Tears Left Uncried: An Inuyasha Story
by Aaron Ledgers
Summary: In the beginning, Rue Thompson would have given anything to escape from her albinism because of all the negativity it got her. Aside from having white hair and yellow eyes, she was just another normal girl... right? WRONG! During a class field trip to the Higurashi Shrine, Rue is somehow dragged into the Feudal Era where she discovers the shocking truth about who she really is!
1. Prologue: The Girl Who Never Cried

**Tears Left Uncried: An Inuyasha Story**

Re-written by Aaron Ledgers  
Dedicated to Kaena Blaise

* * *

**PART ONE: THE PRICE OF HATRED**

"Friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life.  
And thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine."  
**—Thomas Jefferson—**

* * *

**Prologue: The Girl Who Never Cried**

_There is something that I want to tell you all today... something important. _

_In fact, it's so urgent that my hands sweat even as I write this down in anticipation._

_My heart is racing... my ears are burning... and my mouth is trembling. _

_The important thing I mentioned is behind my behavior, as well. _

_Do you want to know what it is?_

_Well, it's simple, really: everyone knows the story of 'the boy who cried wolf'. _

_I mean, if you look at it from my point of view, it seems kind of ridiculous that an old fairy tale could be remembered for hundreds of years when things that have happened much more recently can be forgotten within a few months. For those of you extremely few and rare people who have absolutely no idea what story I'm talking about, allow me to explain the theme: 'the boy who cried wolf' is about a kid from the middle ages who discovers that he can get a kick out of freaking people out through lying about a wolf. However, when a real wolf actually shows up, nobody believes him at all._

_He's eaten alive in some renditions of the child's story; he ends up learning from his mistake in others._

_However, what if that particular tale had been a little different?_

_What if this tale had been about a girl?_

_You see… there is another, much more recent tale that everyone seems to have forgotten: it's about an Irish albino girl who became orphaned in Japan and was savagely abused because of her differences. However, no matter what was being done to her, that girl never cried or shed a single tear despite the pain she was enduring. In fact... not even once, in her entire life, did this girl cry: it could have been that she didn't know how, or it could have been that she fought against the urge to unleash her emotional pain, but in the end... she never once shed her tears. Whenever someone hurt her, she merely looked at them until they left her alone; whenever someone hit her, she merely rubbed the bruised spot on her body and silently continued on her way._

_However, whenever someone called her ugly, her reaction was always the same._

_"I am ugly on the outside," she would murmur gently, "and you are ugly on the inside: I am content to be a disgusting creature in body because my soul is infinitely kinder than yours will ever be. I am satisfied to be ugly if it means I can love people, so if ugly is what I am, wonderful: you will never break me."_

_After that, she would either walk away or allow herself to be beaten up: the albino girl never fought back and never raised her fist against another person because she refused to hurt people. However, nobody who mattered to her knew that she was suffering greatly inside… or even that an unexplainable pain was crushing her. Nobody knew that she was actually starting to break under the torment and abuse she was being put through. Nobody knew that her mask was slowly beginning to collapse… or even that her non-existent tears had actually been there all along. Nobody knew anything at all about her._

_You've all heard the story of the boy who cried wolf... but now it's time to remember the girl who never cried at all._

_This is her story, so let me go back to the beginning and explain it. _

_Foreigner… Outcast… and Freak: these are the three names that Miharu Tachibana was called before she disappeared. _

_Even though she had become a legal citizen of Japan at the age of ten and had even gotten her birth name changed, the pale albino girl had slowly come to loath her existence: she had started hating herself because she wasn't able to fit in due to her overly striking appearance. Over a span of many years, Miharu Tachibana—who's real name was actually Rue Rosemerry Thompson—became extremely quiet and refused to socialize with people because of how much they would harass her. In fact, around the time of her vanishing, the girl tried avoid being seen by the public eye if she could help it. However, even though she did her best to stay out of the spotlight, people targeted her because she stood out. _

_She had been perpetually branded as an outcast because of her unusual eyes and hair. _

_If people wanted to become popular, they used her as a target for dares to gain acceptance from their peers: they tossed her books in the trash for no reason, slapped her when nobody was looking, beat her when nobody was around to hear her screaming—and once, a group of teenaged boys actually went too far and almost killed her. Rue hated all of it: she hated the people who hurt her everyday, she hated the adults who knew what was going on and still turned a blind eye, and she hated being loathed by the world for something that she couldn't control... but most of all, she hated herself for being different than everyone else. At an early age, Rue had bought multiple diaries to write in so she could get her feelings out: she'd needed some way to prevent herself from snapping under the pressure of keeping her emotions bottled up. _

_She wasn't capable of crying... it was a weakness._

_Moreover, the girl refused to show any emotion at all in front of her tormentors: she'd trained herself to keep her face perpetually blank. _

_On the afternoon that she disappeared, Rue and her classmates had been on a field trip to a place called the Higurashi Shrine. People remembered seeing the small albino girl dazedly walking off towards the tree-line with her backpack on her shoulder—but later on, when someone realized that she wasn't with the group, the teacher sent three of her classmates to go find her. Upon following her path and moving into the woods, the three girls who'd been sent to look for Rue found her backpack lying open in front of an enormous tree—with all of her schoolbooks and diaries scattered everywhere. It looked as though the pack had been ripped away from Rue's hands and had been tossed haphazardly to the ground. _

_The three girls got a nasty idea to read Rue's diaries: that way they could use her own thoughts to blackmail her. _

_However, when they sat down and read the first few pages of her diary, they were unconsciously drawn into Rue's tormented mind. As they read, the girls found themselves slowly being riveted with shock: all of the horrifying experiences that the girl had ever been put through came to life through her written words. Abuse after abuse was relived, and there were even things that nobody had realized was going on… such as the fact that the albino girl had been struggling to figure out why her body was changing. _

_However, most of those struggles had ended up being in vain…_

_After reading about how much agony the girl's heart was in, the three Japanese girls felt mortified by their actions: Rue had been a balm for dares, taunting, anger, teasing, and harassment for so long that everyone had pretty much forgotten that she was a human being just like them. They all made the decision to apologize to her once they realized how badly they'd messed up, but unfortunately... they'd already lost the opportunity to apologize. _

_When a rumor spread that Miharu Tachibana had disappeared, the teacher called the police and a frantic search began. _

_However, as days slowly began to pass with no sign of finding the girl, people began to grow more anxious and worried… and when the small girl's smiling face was put in the newspaper—along with full copies of her diary entries—people were stunned by the abuse she'd been put through. Police officers and detectives searched all over southern Japan for the missing teenager, but nobody had any luck in finding her; when the authorities gave up and declared her to be dead, everyone was crushed—because nobody would never get the chance to apologize to Rue for what they'd done to her. _

_Rue Rosemerry Thompson—a small, tormented fifteen-year-old girl with stunning golden eyes and glossy silver hair—had left behind only the tear-stained pages of her diaries and the footprints of her pain on the heart of Japan. However, unknown to any of the people who'd hurt her, the small girl wasn't dead or even missing: she had disappeared nearly two hundred years into the past. _

_And this, my friends, is where an amazing story begins._


	2. Chapter 1: Alone and Afraid

**Chapter One: Alone and Afraid  
**

"Rue-chan, make sure you clean up your room before you head out," Mrs. Tachibana called cheerfully from down the hall; although she was a widow, Mizuki Tachibana was a very beautiful Japanese woman with shoulder-length black hair and expressive brown eyes. Her bubbly personality and genuine charm never failed to brighten at least one person's mood per day.

"I already have, _Oka-san,_" Rue quietly replied, padding into the kitchen with a flyer clutched in her tiny hands. Although her green sailor school uniform had been ironed and looked very neat, Rue's long white hair was messy and her eyes were full of exhaustion. "_Ka-san,_ can you sign this field trip form, please? I have to turn in when I get on the bus this morning... otherwise I won't be able to go."

"Where at?" Mrs. Tachibana quipped, turning around with a pen already resting in her fingers.

"Right here," Rue yawned, touching the line at the bottom of the page. "This is the line where you're supposed to sign."

"_Hai, hai!_" her mother chirped, scribbling her signature at the bottom of the paper. "Where is the field trip going to, again?"

"To the Higurashi Shrine," Rue replied, brushing her long hair and tying it into a simple half-up ponytail. "It's in the old forested area over in downtown Tokyo: my classmate's family owns the land, so she suggested that we all take a field trip there two weeks ago."

"Oh... all right," Mizuki quipped, handing the slip back to her only daughter. "Well, just have fun and stay safe, okay?"

"'Kay," Rue replied, flashing the woman a loving smile before she turned and dusted off the counter; the girl instantly furrowed her brows and got a rag from one of the kitchen cupboards in order to clean some food residue off of the wood. However, the genuinely thoughtful action only made Mizuki realize even further how beautiful and kind her foster daughter had become during her teen years. When Rue put the rag in the sink, her eyes melted with pride and she beamed—silently telling herself that she was the luckiest mother in the world.

"Rue-chan," Mrs. Tachibana called, watching as the albino girl turned away, "do you still have that pepper spray I gave you?"

"_Oka-san_!" Rue groaned, giggling despite her usually quiet disposition. "I can take care of myself."

"Well, I was just checking," Mizuki laughed. "Have a good day!"

"_Hai,_ I will!" Rue called as she raced into her room, snatched her bag up off the floor, and darted for the door.

"_Daisuki,_ _Miharu-chan_!" the woman called back in Japanese. "_Abayo!_"

"I love you, too, Oka-san!" Rue replied in English, shaking her head before darting outside. As she zipped out into the street and raced for her bus stop, Rue was completely oblivious to what was going to happen to her on that very afternoon until it was too late. Rue waited for about ten minutes in the cold September sun, humming softly to herself until the vehicle lumbered its way up to the corner.

The albino girl hefted her backpack when it stopped in front of the kiosk, doors opening with a squealing noise.

After taking a deep breath and bracing herself for what was going to come, Rue climbed the stairs and stood silently in the isle. When her glittering yellow eyes flashed around for an open seat, thirty pairs of slanted brown eyes glared at her face with burning hatred; however, after spotting an open seat at the back of the bus, Rue made her way down the isle and ignored the dirty looks being directed at her.

"Watch it, freak!" a Japanese girl with dyed blonde hair snapped when she brushed against her shoulder by accident.

_"Gome nasai,_" Rue instantly apologized, timidly dodging around the bristling girl and moving towards the back of bus. However, someone's foot shot out in the isle without warning and managed to trip her: unable to keep her balance, Rue stumbled over the appendage and fell to the floor of the bus—stifling a cry of pain as her left elbow bashed against one of the metal bars below the seats. The albino girl locked her jaw and crawled back onto all fours, breathing slowly and evenly as she struggled to hide her emotions. After she was on her feet, she grabbed her backpack from where it had fallen and darted to the open seat, sinking down in it with no expression on her pale face.

Finally, the bus started to move and the fieldtrip began.

To keep her mind occupied, Rue pulled out her diary and flipped it open to the page she had stopped writing at. After taking a pen out of her bag, Rue tucked a stray strand of her silver hair behind her right ear and began to pour her heart into her writing. It was an extremely dangerous way to confess how horrible she was feeling because anyone could read her mind like a book if they ever got their hands on one of her diaries... but at the same time, for her it was like taking pain out of her heart and locking it all inside a chest made of paper.

She needed to do this as a balm for everything: without her diaries, she would have gone insane a long time ago.

The bus rocked and bounced over all of the potholes in the road as Rue's class continued to head through downtown Tokyo, and pretty soon they left the main part of the city completely. At the outskirts of the main population, the changes in the landscape were much more noticeable: instead of neon and glass, there were trees, farms, and cornfields. The teenagers on the bus pointed excitedly at the scenery, chattering animatedly as they clicked their cameras at the fairly common sights: Rue merely blinked at them in confusion.

_You'd think they've never taken a walk down the streets of Tokyo before,_ Rue thought silently to herself, watching everyone through her long silver lashes with an expression of distaste. She'd already seen all of these particular roads because her foster mother's sister lived out here with her cousins: when Rue had been growing up, her mother had taken her to visit them all the time. As for the Higurashi Shrine, however, she'd only been there once when her aunt had taken the family out for a picnic. Rue's classmate, Kagome Higurashi, was one grade above her even though they were in the same class, and her parents owned the land where the Higurashi Shrine was located.

That's why the field trip had started in the first place: the Higurashi Shrine was fun _and_ educational.

When the bus breaks let out a metallic screech and the vehicle came to a stop, Rue put her pen behind her ear.

They'd finally arrived.

"_Okay, people,_" one of the three teachers called loudly in Japanese, "_find your partner and line up outside._"

"Partner?" Rue murmured in English, halting as her eyes went blank: she'd totally forgotten who her partner was.

The teacher had passed out numbers in class the other day, and those with the same numbers were paired together; all she could remember was the fact that when she'd found out her partner was, she'd felt like she'd wanted to melt into a puddle. People were getting off the bus, though, so she decided to wait until later to figure it out. After slipping her backpack around her small shoulders, Rue waited until everyone was already off the bus before she stepped onto the sidewalk, looking around to see who was nearby.

Finally deciding she was safe, she flipped her diary open and pulled her pen from behind her ear.

"_Still taking notes on how to get a man, Little Flower?_" a mocking voice tauntingly demanded. "_Why not just ask us directly?_"

Rue's head instantly snapped up and her face paled to the point of translucency: the diary slipped from her hands as the familiar feeling of terror set in, warping her mind and sending her back to the night when she'd almost died. She remembered who her partner was supposed to be: the most popular boy in school, Tsuruuki Takahashi, had chosen her number by some sick twist of fate. He was the only guy in school who'd had ever taken enough interest in her to actually become her friend. He was the boy she'd fallen head over heels for after he'd stolen her first kiss. He was the boy who'd laughed at her while his friends… in an alley behind the school…

_I can't let them catch me alone again,_ Rue panicked silently, shoulders starting to shake as her pupils dilated. _I can't let them hurt me again… I can't let them trick me into feeling safe again… I can't say anything to them... I can't show them that I'm scared_...

However, the albino girl's trembling wouldn't stop and she felt as though her legs had turned to marble: Tsuruuki and his group of friends burst into hysterical laughter when she tried to snatch her diary off the ground and tripped, falling flat on her face as her legs buckled. Rue slowly sat up, clamping her arms tightly around her diary when they made their way towards her. Even though she knew her actions were irrational—they were in public, after all—she couldn't help but be terrified of them and finally squeezed her large eyes shut.

These people wanted her dead, and once upon a time, they had tried to make their wish come true in the worst way imaginable.

A book unexpectedly sailed past Rue's head from behind and landed at the advancing boys' feet, stopping them cold.

Expressions of disbelief etched into their faces.

"_Higurashi-chan?_" Tsuruuki scoffed in Japanese, staring behind Rue's head with furrowed brows. "_What are you doing?_"

"_Leave her alone, you blockheads!_" a feminine voice snapped. "_Use your manners when you're addressing girls like Miharu-chan!_"

"_Gome nasai, Higurashi-san,_" Tsuruuki mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets and heading in the opposite direction with his buddies following close behind. Rue waited until they were at least twelve yards away from her before she glanced over her shoulder and looked up at her rescuer. It was difficult trying to see through the curtain of white hair obscuring her eyes, but she was surprised to see Kagome Higurashi standing over her with folded arms and a fierce expression. In reality, Kagome was a classic Asian beauty: she had sparkling brown eyes and waist-length black hair that framed her face in a way that made her seem much older than she really was. It was a fitting look for the girl who had sponsored the field trip... but she looked so much older right then that the albino girl frowned.

She honestly hated being tiny: she didn't think being the smallest girl in her entire school was an attractive quality.

"_Thanks for helping me,_" Rue murmured in Japanese, lowering her eyes to the ground. "_Those guys are the worst._"

"No problem, and you can speak English if you'd like!" Kagome cheerfully replied. "Your name is Miharu Tachibana, right?"

"My name is Rue Thompson," the small girl murmured unhappily. "Miharu Tachibana is just a name I'm using in order to fit in."

"Well, Rue-chan... don't you _ever_ let those jerks get under your skin like they were doing a minute ago, got it?" Kagome kindly demanded, giving the smaller girl a firm brown-eyed stare. "They're probably just upset because they'll never get a date with a pretty girl like you."

"Yeah, right!" Rue squeaked, making a sour face as her stomach lurched in horrified disgust. "There's no way that Tsuruuki-kun would ever ruin his reputation as the King of Deception by asking me out! Especially since he went through so much trouble beating me up to—"

_"Nani?_ What did you say?" Kagome asked, turning to look down at her with a startled expression. Rue's yellow eyes went blank with an expression of fright and she hastily climbed back to her feet. Without saying another word, the albino bowed a little and tried to hurry away, but Kagome clamped a hand down on her shoulder; Rue immediately flinched and covered her face, waiting for the taller girl to slap her. However, when nothing happened, she felt extremely apprehensive: after a few moments, she slowly opened her owlish golden eyes and peered up at the Asian girl. Rue froze like a deer in the headlights when she realized that Kagome looked startled by her reactions. it was so unusual for the albino to see concern being directed towards her that she was frightened by it.

However, when the older girl merely sighed and patted her on the head before heading up the stairs, she felt inexplicably warm.

"_Okay, let's go!_" Mrs. Takimoto called in Japanese, ushering her students up the stairs after Kagome.

"_Welcome!_" an old man greeted the second they arrived to the top. "_The Higurashi Shrine welcomes you all! Please feel free to walk around the grounds and look around. My daughter will join us soon, and then we shall get the tour started._"

_"Alright!"_ a girl squealed excitedly. "_Where's the gift shop?_"

"_I dunno, this way maybe!_" a boy cried.

"_Come on, let's go!_" another boy shouted.

"_Hey, wait up!_" a girl wailed.

"If Kagome confronts Tsuruuki about what I said, he'll…" Rue whispered, watching her classmates scatter with dilated pupils as the fear of what she'd done truly sank in. Rue—feeling relieved that she'd been saved from her worst nightmares and baffled by Kagome's kindness—followed the group of high school students up the same set of stairs that the black-haired beauty had disappeared on. However, not wanting to take the chance of being caught alone by Tsuruuki after such a terrifying slip of character, Rue hefted her backpack and hurriedly began walking in the opposite direction. As she was passing by some much smaller huts, the tiny albino girl somehow ended up strolling her way around a gleaming pool of crystal blue water with a couple of small fish swimming in it.

That's when she saw it... and for the first time in her life, her breath was taken away.

After coming through a walkway full of cherry trees, she turned on the path and froze as the sight met her eyes: a colossal, ancient-looking cherry tree stood before her, surrounded by a string of paper charms and a tiny fence. Hesitantly glancing to the right, Rue saw that there was a wooden bench resting not far away from it. Feeling her eyes being drawn by the tree, she turned her head and looked at it again: it stood tall and majestic, but something about it seemed to be… familiar.

"_That's our sacred tree_," a young Asian woman carrying a huge box giggled from behind the albino girl. "_Many of the people who come to visit the Shrine make lots of wishes and tie them to the tree, but later on they claim that their wishes have come true. You should give it a try before you head in… your hair is very pretty, by the way: I've only seen one other person with such a beautiful shade of silver._"

"_Oh, thank you!_" Rue murmured, turning to the woman and bowing her head in thanks the way she was taught. However, the woman had continued on without even waiting for Rue to respond. Feeling confused and slightly offended for a moment by the adult's blatant rudeness, Rue shook her head and shrugged off the woman's odd behavior before making her way over to the large tree. As she drew closer, the fence came into better focus: she could see small pieces of paper tied around it.

_Other people's wishes,_ Rue realized, getting an urge to untie one and take a peek at what was written inside. However, she clasped her tiny hands behind her back and restrained herself with the knowledge that they weren't her dreams to destroy. Her own dreams had been crushed long ago, but she wouldn't do the same to someone else. However, a flicker of indecision coursed through her as the idea of making her own wish came to mind. Rue contemplated it for a long time, feeling uneasy without knowing why, but she finally sat down in front of the huge tree with a sorrowful sigh: there was no point in relying on a cheesy wish, but there was no point in not trying it, either. Plus, it wasn't like anyone would know it was her wish in particular, even if they decided to take a peek at it later on.

It was a safe decision from every angle she could think of.

Rue looked around and saw a brown pot resting by the small fence, so she lifted the lid and took a peek at what was inside. Sheets of paper filled and a few pencils were leaning against the side of the bowl: she pulled out one of each and replaced the lid.

_What do I want, though?_ she wondered, tapping her chin with the pencil's eraser; she thought back to all the times she'd been tormented, all the time she'd wished she could look like everyone else and be loved for who she was. She'd always wanted to be special—to be loved and looked up to. Rue's yellow eyes became forlorn as she turned back to the slip of paper and stared at it. Feeling alone, she wrote down the first thing that came to her mind.

_I wish someone would love me unconditionally... so I can finally have someone close to express myself with._

After she was finished writing, Rue dropped the pencil back into the pot and tied her wish onto the fence with all the others before letting her hands drop limply into her lap. The moment her wish had been tied in place, she felt extremely drained and became too tired to even stand up. Her fiery golden eyes lifted to stare at the sacred tree as several strands of her silver hair were lifted in the gentle breeze. The girl's tired gaze was drawn to a barely-noticeable spot on the wood where the bark had peeled—almost as though it refused to grow there. However, when a flicker of light seemed to spark out of the tree, Rue stiffened in surprise.

"What was that?" she whispered, staring intently at the spot as shivering tingles ran up and down her body. The albino girl stopped moving and stared at the tree with large eyes as a bright shaft of violet light began to shine through it: feeling confused by the anomaly, she placed her hand on the fence and weakly tried to stand up... but when her fingers brushed gently across her wish, hell broke loose.

Rue was momentarily blinded by the explosion of violet light that shot out of the tree.

The small girl's head jerked down when a jolt of electricity shot up her arm, and she watched with huge eyes as a spiraling mark made of blue light began winding its way across her skin—creating a blinding Tribal design that radiated azure luminescence. The albino pulled at the sleeves of her green sailor uniform as the light seared its way up her shoulder: however, the light continued winding around her neck and shot over her face before burning straight into her forehead—where a Tribal Indian-style sun traced itself out with a flash. There was no time to think about this startling tattoo: a shockwave of blinding violet light exploded out of the hole and engulfed the girl's body in a shimmering purple aura. Her long silver hair began to billow around her body in a weightless manner as a horrible electrical feeling surged throughout her nerves... but when Rue looked down at her hands, she let out a high-pitched squeak of terror.

Her entire body was becoming translucent.

Rue instantly looked up at the sacred tree with horrified golden eyes: the second she laid eyes on it, the violet glow flashed blindingly and, without warning, a set of colossal ethereal wings exploded out of Rue's back. Only a moment later, the girl was pulled clean off the ground and sucked into the tree as though she were made of nothing but smoke. Rue's bloodcurdling shriek echoed across the grounds for a long time, but when it finally died away... there was nothing left of her aside from the scattered diaries lying beside the fence. Silence prevailed as a multitude of cherry blossoms began to fall like rain.

Then... only ten minutes later... three Japanese girls arrived.


	3. Chapter 2: Alice in Wonderland?

**Chapter Two: Alice in Wonderland?**

"W-where am I?!" Rue shrieked, holding her skirt down while simultaneously attempting to stay upright as she floated through space.

Clouds made of shimmering light floated past her head, and she glanced around wildly as a soundless wind flowed around her body, playing with tendrils of her silver hair and ruffling her school uniform. Rue flapped her left arm to regain the balance she was starting to lose and eventually managed to face the way she was being pulled: there wasn't really a sense of up or down anymore, but it made her nervous to be off balance nonetheless. The moment she faced forward, she went rigid because there was another girl in the void with her... a girl with long white hair and a very odd-looking dress.

The other girl's back was facing her, though, so her face was hidden from sight.

Rue's eyes widened when a flash of that weird purple light winked at her again—coming from inside the white-haired girl. When she was suddenly jerked toward the girl by an unseen force, she got a nasty dose of whiplash: her body began moving faster, and at the last minute she realized that she and the girl were going to collide, but when their bodies should have crashed into each other, the girl wasn't there.

Rue simply passed through her, almost as though she'd been nothing but an illusion.

"What the—?" she squeaked in shock, waving her arms as she tried to find the white-haired lady. However, she had no more time to wonder about the other girl because a flash of violet light engulfed her again, blinding her. Rue squeezed her eyes shut against the painful glare for a long moment—but then a sickening sense of weightlessness overtook her stomach and the girl snapped her eyes back open.

She was back outside... and hovering almost ten yards above the ground. Rue shrieked hysterically and flailed her arms as she flipped toward the grass. She landed hard on her back by chance, effectively knocking the wind out of herself and causing bright stars to explode behind her eyes. When her sight returned, the world around her spun sickeningly as she heaved for air, trying to get breath back into her empty lungs.

_Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!_ Rue wailed silently, squeezing her eyes shut as the tip of her tongue poked out in protest. _Breeeeeeaaaathe!_

"Ow…" the albino girl wheezed, rolling on her side and opening her eyes. Looking up, she saw the sacred tree before her once again: ears ringing, Rue timidly shook her silver hair out and sat up to get a better look at it. Upon close inspection, however, she saw that it looked almost exactly the same… but for some reason or another, it seemed to look younger. The fence that had been around it was gone, too, along with the long string of wishes.

_What in the world?_ Rue silently wondered, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes. _Okay… I have a new mental note for the day: there will be absolutely no more school-based breakfasts for me anymore, since they're obviously causing some major hallucinations and strange psychological issues._

After remembering that she had to get back to class before anyone discovered she was missing, Rue dizzily stood up and turned around.

The girl froze like a statue when she saw a group of burly men wearing old-fashioned kimonos.

She blinked several times to make she she wasn't seeing things, but her yellow eyes popped open wide in disbelief when she realized that she wasn't actually having an odd hallucination: the men stared right back at her, looking as shocked by her sudden appearance as she felt. There were about thirty of them in front of her, total: two men were up on horseback, but the majority of them were on foot and had large swords… but the most noticeable thing of all was the fact that they were all scarred, rugged, enormous in size, and were wearing Kimonos that had been out of fashion for hundreds of years.

Actually, their attire seemed more like armor than kimonos…

"_Well, the fox got away, but it seems we've found ourselves another special woman here,_" one of the horsemen snickered in Japanese, leering at Rue with a sinister expression on his face. "_A pale-faced beauty with the rare colorless gene—most likely from far overseas, judging by her round eyes and fair facial features. What say you, boys? Shall we take her for keeps or sell her?_"

"_Let's sell her!_" another man called. "_She'll bring us good money if we sell her to a brothel! It'll make up for the demon whore!_"

"_Yeah, them palefaces are hard workers!_" a third man shouted cheerfully—and the rest of the men eagerly agreed because they broke into an uproarious cheer. "_If we sell a colorless beauty to a brothel, we'll be rich enough to own a castle!_"

"_Hey, wait a second!_" Rue cried in Japanese, waving her arms. "_I'm not an item! You can't do something like that, so stay away from me!_"

They didn't heed her, though, and when one man grabbed her arm and tried to jerk her along with him, she grabbed his wrist at the base with her free hand and whirled beneath it—using the one technique from her Karate classes that she never messed up on. The man's weight caused him to flip onto his back and he stared up at the sky with a stunned expression on his face. However, the other men didn't take to her defiance: one of them pulled out a long whip and turned it on her with a snarl. Rue instantly flinched and put both of her arms up to protect her face, but she couldn't keep herself from letting out a shriek of pain when the frayed ends ripped her skin open. Blood began spilling down her arm as the man drew back the weapon again.

Rue, however, wasn't going to stand around and wait for it to snap on her a second time: when the man swung at her, she whirled to the side in a clumsy dodge before darting away like a bullet. The trees had her zigzagging in a dizzying manner, and she tripped more than once over the exposed roots lying across the ground, but she didn't care: she was too busy trying to keep from going hysterical to worry about where she was actually going.

"Where the hell am I?!" Rue wailed, jumping over a log and ducking under a branch.

By the time she was slightly winded from her adrenaline-fueled sprinting, the trees opened up in front of her—but the path didn't lead back to a shrine, and Rue only saw the edge of the cliff just as she was about to go over it. The albino girl skidded to a halt just before she tumbled off the ledge, toes poking over the edge of the chasm as she frantically wind-milled her arms. She felt her heart lurching as she fought to keep her balance and avoid falling into the white-water river resting thirty feet below: then a whip cracked right next to her left ear, she lost her concentration and her heart froze.

Finally losing her balance, Rue Thompson let out a terrified shriek and flipped down towards the dark, white-capped river.

She slammed into the ravine headfirst and instantly tried to take a breath of air, which only caused a large amount of water to flood her nostrils and choke her. Her first coherent thought was to get back to the surface and take a deep breath before she drowned—but the girl soon realized that she was caught in the middle a raging current. Even though her school clothes were weighing her down, Rue frantically struggled to kick her way to the surface, but before she could make it there her body slammed into something solid and she flipped around in a dizzying way.

Then her head unexpectedly broke the surface.

Rue just managed to take a breath of air and let out a short-lived shriek before she was slammed into something else and dragged beneath the waves a second time. As she hurtled downstream with the current, the tiny albino girl was bashed against so many boulders and logs that she lost count of the jarring blows. She couldn't feel her body anymore, not even when the river halted and she stopped moving—but even though she couldn't feel anything, she knew that she was freezing to death and that her clothes were drenched with blood and water. She could tell that the river was still moving around her bleeding legs, but she didn't even have the energy to pull herself all the way out. Everything was beginning to feel fuzzy when she heard it.

"Oh, no!" someone gasped, speaking through the ringing in her ears. "Oh, no! Master Jaken! Master Jaken, help!"

"What is it you silly girl?" a high-pitched, scratchy voice growled from somewhere in the distance.

"Hurry, I need your help!" the little voice exclaimed again.

Before she could hear anything else, Rue's mind spiraled down into darkness where the shadows were waiting for her; it only felt like a few seconds later, but when she swam into consciousness again her ears were ringing and she felt as though she were trapped in an impenetrable darkness. Her long-lashed eyes fluttered a little and she swallowed hard when her head began throbbing violently: muffled voices began to buzz in her ringing ears as she became more aware of the omnipresent darkness. However, the darkness she was trapped in was spinning like a carnival ride, making her feel sick with vertigo.

She had to open her eyes... had to escape before the darkness spiraled up and swallowed her a second time.

Rue's stomach clenched as she struggled to wake up, fighting against her own mind to tumble into the light from the spinning shadows.

With a jolt, her sparkling yellow eyes flew open and she unintentionally began to cry: silent tears began streaming down her cheeks, trickling across her ears and straight into her silver hair. In that moment, the muffled noises began to make sense... but the way her hearing suddenly came back made it seem as though cotton had just been pulled out of her ears. The girl quickly became aware of everything as consciousness started to descend on her: she heard a crackling noise and registered a warm heat brushing across her face and right shoulder, which meant that there was some kind of fire nearby.

The rest of her body was covered by a scratchy blanket, and another one was resting beneath her back.

"The Lord will not like this at all, Rin!" a scratchy voice growled.

"She's hurt, though, Master Jaken," a little girl's voice replied. "We had to do something."

"It is not our place!" the scratchy voice snapped. "We cannot keep picking up stray dogs!"

"Excuse me?" Rue croaked in offense, dizzily sitting up and groggily looking around. "I'm not a stray dog!"

"Oh, hello!" the little girl exclaimed excitedly; looking over at her and blinking blearily, Rue noticed that she had deep brown eyes and black hair tied into a side-ponytail. Upon further inspection, Rue also noticed that the girl had straw sandals on her feet and that she was wearing an ancient-looking orange kimono with flowers stitched onto it: the look was outdated, but somehow that fact managed to make her look all the cuter.

"Um… hi?" Rue greeted uncertainly, giving the girl a halfhearted wave.

"Rin, don't interact with her!" the scratchy voice shouted. "Don't give her a reason to become attached or she might cling!"

"I'm not a disease, so don't treat me like one!" Rue snapped, but then she saw the speaker and flinched in horror. "EEK! A Gremlin! It's a Gremlin!"

"No, no! That's Master Jaken!" the little girl cried. "He's really nice, honest! He's the one who bandaged you up!"

"W-what?!" Rue squeaked, blinking blearily as she tried to process that statement.

"Stupid human girl!" the imp-like creature snapped. "I should incinerate you with the staff of two heads for your ungratefulness!"

"The staff of two _what?"_ Rue asked in confusion, taking a look at the staff in the creature's hands; she drew back and lost all of her self control when she saw that there were really two shrunken heads on the staff—one from a woman and another from an old man. "ACK! Okay, I'm done: I'm going home!"

"No, wait!" Rin protested, eyes when Rue struggled to her feet and stumbled weakly on her injured legs; the little girl skipped up to the silver-haired teen and grabbed onto the sleeve of her blazer, tugging desperately. "Please, don't go! You're still hurt! What if something else happens?!"

"This is all a dream! I'll wake up any minute now and be passed out on that bench by the tree!" Rue babbled hysterically, whirling about and tripping over her own feet—which caused her to fall painfully to her knees. "Ouch! If this is a dream, why do my legs hurt! They shouldn't be hurting at all!"

"Please, don't go away just yet!" Rin exclaimed, putting both of her tiny hands on Rue's slender shoulders. "I'm sure that Lord Sesshomaru will be able to get you back to your home, so just stay here! P-please?"

"My Lord wouldn't waste his time on a simple mortal!" Jaken pointedly argued. "Rin, if she wants to leave then let her go!"

"I've got to stop dreaming already," Rue stammered, shaking her head. "It's probably happening because I read Alice in Wonderl—EEP!"

Rue's statement was cut off when she smacked face-first into an obstacle that hadn't been there a moment ago.

Her fragile face scrunched up in pain as she was knocked flat on her backside.

"Oh, be careful!" Rin cried, carefully touching her bleeding knee. "Ouch... that looks like it really hurts."

"Why the heck do I keep running into things?!" the albino whined, clutching her throbbing nose. "I've never been this clumsy before!"

"Oh!" Rin exclaimed excitedly. "Lord Sesshomaru!"

"M'lord!" Jaken squeaked in delight, rushing past Rue and bowing low to the ground in respect at someone's feet.

"Huh…?" Rue whispered, slowly letting her eyes travel up to the man's face. However, when she saw him the girl felt a fluttering jolt of shock sear through her body: she'd never seen anyone so handsome! Not a single one of the novels she'd ever read could have ever captured a man of this magnificence—and what was more, his features were extremely similar to _hers._ As he stared down at her, she noticed that his catlike golden eyes had no expression except for an odd coldness. His long silver hair hung down to the back of his knees, his ears were pointed like an elf's, he wore a white kimono with red designs, and his body was covered in war armor—as though he'd just come back from a battle. He held himself like royalty and radiated a feeling of power that was stronger than anything she'd ever felt. However, the strangest thing of all was the fur circling over his right shoulder and hanging down to the ground.

She didn't notice until the last second that she could only see his right hand.

"What is this?" he inquired monotonously, speaking to the imp in a deep silken voice without taking his eyes off her.

_Am I just a thing to these people?_ Rue wondered, eyebrows immediately twitching with irritation as she scowled.

"M'lord! Rin brought this girl here!" Jaken stated quickly, attempting to get the blame off his shoulders. "It was not I!"

"She was hurt, Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin stated piously when the silver-haired man turned to look at her. "She was bleeding all over her body and she had a big bump on her head when I found her down by the river. I couldn't just leave her there."

The man known as Sesshomaru once again turned his eyes on Rue, taking in her iridescent white hair, her fiery yellow eyes, and her delicate features with an emotionless expression. However, the Demon Lord stiffened slightly and looked at her a tad bit harder when a little aureole of light suddenly began too twinkle around her upper torso—faintly outlining a pair of enormous wings before the glow winked out and the feathered apparitions disappeared.

_There's something off about this girl,_ he thought to himself, suspiciously narrowing his eyes as his gaze traveled down her extremely slender form. Rue shifted uneasily as Sesshomaru's cat-like eyes drilled into her, and for a long moment she had the disconcerting feeling that he could see straight into her soul—the places where her darkest pain and torment lurked. Feeling oddly exposed, she turned her eyes away from his face and looked at the ground.

"Would you like me to dispose of her, my Lord?" Jaken inquired wickedly, aiming the woman's shrunken head at her.

"Uh, excuse me?" Rue snapped, instantly glaring at the imp. "Would you care to repeat that?"

"Hold your tongue, you!" the creature snapped, instantly moving toward her and brandishing the creepy-looking weapon.

"Back off, Gremlin-man!" she squeaked, eyes flashing with fury as she twisted to the side and knocked the weapon away with a fierce kick from the toe of her shoe; the staff was knocked clean out of the imp's tiny hands, and the force of her counterblow made him fall on his backside like a baby. "I didn't ask to be sucked into a sacred tree and get tossed into your dream world, so don't you even _dare_ go thinking that you can harass me like everyone else!"

"This is no dream world, mortal!" Jaken retorted, picking up his staff after clumsily climbing back to his feet.

"You mean the sacred tree from Kagome's village?" Rin asked, brightening up in an instant. "Lord Sesshomaru, we can take her there! It's not far!"

"No, Rin!" the imp snapped irritably.

_Great, now they're going to kidnap me like those other men did! What else can go wrong?_ Rue wondered silently, looking at the bickering group as she slowly climbed to her feet. _More importantly, where the hell am I if this isn't a dream? These people dress so, so… medieval! Like people who belong in Japanese history books, not the twenty-first century._

"What's your name?" a silken voice suddenly inquired, startling the girl out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Rue asked blankly, staring up at the silver-haired man in confusion.

"Answer him, you little—!" Jaken began to rage.

"Alright, alright!" the girl snapped at the creature. "Chill out already!"

"Then answer the question, you brat!" Jaken retorted, brandishing the staff again.

"Fine! My name is Miharu Tachibana!" Rue shrieked, clutching her head with both hands. "Are you happy now?! I don't have anything else to offer, so either change the subject or leave me the hell alone! Preferably the latter! I have no idea what's going on, and I just want to go home! I just want to go home!"

The man didn't answer her statement, nor did his expression change. A long moment passed in silence as he stared at her, and Rue once again found herself having to look away from his eyes. There was something about him that intimidated her.

"It's a five day journey," Sesshomaru finally stated, gliding past her small form and walking toward the camp site. "I have many places to go, so you will watch over Rin while I'm gone—and you will do so until you leave."

"Yay!" Rin cheered excitedly, jumping up and down as she clapped her hands merrily.

"Can I go home now, please…?" Rue asked softly, burying her face in her hands.

Nobody answered her.


	4. Chapter 3: A Walk in the Park

**Chapter Three: Walk in the Park**

"Miss Miharu! Look!" Rin called excitedly, skipping up to the small teenager's side. "Look at what I found! It's pretty!"

"Wow… it really is," Rue murmured, bending down to admire the flower she was holding. "What is it, though?"

"I dunno, but it's pretty, right?" Rin asked hopefully.

"Yeah, it really is," Rue quietly assured, giving the little girl a small smile as she stood up again.

The praise was all the child wanted and she quickly danced off again, humming to herself in a carefree way.

They'd left their last campsite about two hours ago and they hadn't stopped walking since then: her feet were sore, her gashes were stinging, and the sun was burning through her high-school uniform like a heat lamp. However, despite the discomfort, Rue's golden eyes softened as she watched Rin pick cherry blossoms off the trees as they walked. In the beginning, the girl had felt like staying close to the child because it was her supposed 'job', but now she felt as though she'd become attached to Rin. Jaken, on the other hand,was nothing but a short, stubborn, bossy little imp with some serious control issues and a desire to be the one with power.

Translation: she wasn't afraid of him in the least.

"Lord Sesshomaru,"Jaken inquired, refusing to move three feet away from the man, "are we heading to the village or the tunnels?"

"The village," Sesshomaru responded curtly, refusing to take his eyes off the road.

Rue sighed unhappily and lowered her eyes to the ground.

The man didn't really talk all that much, but she became aggravated every time he did because his replies gave her the impression that he believed he was too good for any of them. In all honesty, the stuck-up types had always gotten on her nerves in some way or another—but like always, she silently swallowed her words and turned her attention away from the problem at hand.

"It's been a while since we've been to Lord Sesshomaru's domain," Rin noted, unconsciously taking a hold of Rue's hand.

"Domain?" Rue murmured in confusion. "You mean he owns it?"

"Yes, he owns most of these lands," the child replied, smiling up at her warmly. "We travel all over the place and protect other people. Right now, though, Lord Sesshomaru is seeking out a demon that has caused us a lot of trouble."

_Demon?_ Rue wondered silently, cocking her head to the side in confused skepticism.

Soon enough, a village appeared on the horizon. It was rather big for a rural village: all the houses were made of wood and had large rocks placed on the rooftops to hold the planks down. A few of the buildings were bigger than the rest, and a few small shopping stands line the streets. However, people began to speed around in a bustle the second the group came into view.

"It's the Demon Lord!" a man called loudly. "Clear the streets and make a path for him!"

Other people began to mimic his cries throughout the streets until the words seemed to be echoing through the air.

"So… um…" Rue hesitantly mumbled, looking up at Sesshomaru, "you're a… demon, then?"

"Don't—!" Jaken tried to rebuke, but Sesshomaru stopped him by lifting a hand.

"Yes," he replied simply, not even bothering to stop or look at her while he did so.

Feeling irritable yet again, Rue glared daggers into his back with her fiery golden eyes. The villagers backed away as they entered the streets, staring at the silver-haired demon lord as he strode down the road with them in tow. They passed multiple buildings where geisha women piled out in a rush and batted their eyelashes at him.

_They actually have brothels in towns with lots of children?_ Rue wondered, eyes widening to the size of saucers. She tried her best not to shudder at the sight of the women's lascivious and overly seductive expressions, but she couldn't help rubbing her slender arms as a wave prickly gooseflesh began to rise on them. She shivered and silently glanced away, diverting her attention from the geisha women to the food shops. The big, two-headed dragon that Rin was pulling along behind her tugged at his reins every time they passed a food shop, and Rue's stomach sympathized with him by growling in hunger.

When they reach the center of the town, however, Sesshomaru pulled out a small pouch and tossed it to Rin.

"That should cover some food," he stated, turning away and stalking off down the road. "I am sure you can fend for yourselves."

"W-wait for me, my Lord!" Jaken called, rushing to catch up to the man.

"Hey, Rin?" Rue murmured quietly, gently nudging the child with her elbow. "Is he always that rude?"

"Rude?" the little girl quipped with a confused expression, holding up the pouch and jingling it cautiously. "What do you mean, Miss Miharu? He just gave us a lot of money, didn't he?"

"That only proves he's rich, not that he's polite," Rue gently corrected, staring down at the little girl in amusement.

Rin simply laughed at the logical statement and took the older girl's hand, pulling her and the dragon toward the food booths. The three of them had just started walking down the street in the opposite direction of their companions when Rue finally began to notice all of the stares and whispers rising up around them: several people were blatantly pointing in her direction and staring.

"_Oh, my word! Shibaki, Suzuki, look!_" an elderly woman gasped in Japanese, tapping her companions' shoulders and pointing straight at the albino girl. "Dears, look at that girl's hair! It's so luscious and shiny! Oh, and her eyes are so round and _golden!"_

"_You're right, her hair is almost identical to the Demon Lord's,_" another old woman exclaimed, eyebrows lifting. "_My... her eyes really are a pretty color, too! I never would have believed that female demons could be so exotic if I wasn't looking at her right now! Believe you me, ladies, that demon girl right there is going to make her man feel very, very lucky someday—just you watch!_"

"_She looks rather odd, if you ask me,_" a third woman sneered in disgust. "_I've never seen such a skimpy kimono before in my entire life—even on a foreigner. What barbaric land does she hail from? Certainly it cannot be from the Mainland._"

"_Oh, be nice, Shibaki!_" the first woman scolded. "_It's not every day you get to see foreigners,_ _especially if they're demons!_"

"I guess I really do look weird if they think I'm some sort of demon," Rue whispered unhappily, ducking her head as an embarrassed blush swept across her pale face. "Rin-chan, is it strange that I have yellow eyes and white hair? Do I really look like a demon?"

"Well, no, but I think it makes you look prettier than most of the normal ladies around here," Rin cheerfully encouraged. "Anyway, you shouldn't listen to what all the mean people say. Just listen to what the good people say and be yourself—like Miss Kagome!"

"Kagome-san?" Rue inquired curiously, tucking a strand of shimmering hair behind her ear as she glanced at the girl.

"Yeah! She dresses differently, like you, and she's helped me lots of times," Rin confirmed, nodding eagerly. "Maybe we'll run into Miss Kagome and her friends sometime soon... then you can meet her, too! I think she'd really like you a lot, Miss Miharu!"

"Um… okay?" Rue replied cautiously, not exactly sure how to respond.

"Oh, I know _you'll_ like her a lot," Rin exclaimed in a carefree manner, leading the silver-haired teenager over to a food stand and paying the merchant. After she had the food, the two of them headed over to a small table and sat down: when Rue looked down and saw what was on the menu, however, she stared at the strange-smelling food with a horrified expression on her pale face.

"Rin-chan, what is this?" Rue inquired slowly, poking the weird-looking meat with a chopstick.

"It's roasted ox," the child mumbled, speaking around a mouthful of food.

"Oh, okay," Rue replied hoarsely, face instantly turning a light shade of green. "I… can try a little, maybe…"

"I knew it: you're just like Miss Kagome," Rin giggled after swallowing her bite. "Just in case you didn't like the ox, I bought you some noodles and some spiced pickles. Miss Kagome doesn't like roasted ox, so I figured you wouldn't either."

"Really?" Rue asked in surprise, feeling oddly touched by the girl's thoughtfulness. "_Domo Arigatou, Rin-chan._"

"You're welcome," Rin cheerfully laughed, sliding the carton over to the teenager. Rue timidly pinched one of the pickles with her chopsticks and tried it: much to her surprise, it wasn't all that bad—and the noodles were delicious, so she didn't mind those at all. After their lunch had passed by, Rin grabbed the dragon's reigns and the three of them headed down the street again.

Soon, she spotted a little green imp and a tall, handsome, way-too-proud-for-his-own-good demon lord.

The second she saw them, Rin skipped up to Sesshomaru and began dancing around his legs before stealing Jaken's staff and playing tag with him. Rue kept her mouth shut and lapsed into an uncomfortable silence when Sesshomaru walked up to her and let his sharp gaze run slowly down her figure. However, the girl immediately turned her eyes away when his eyes lingered on her legs, blood boiling with embarrassment and irritation: the girl's normally pale face had turned beet red.

_What's his problem?_ she wondered silently, shifting nervously to her other foot as she stared at the ground. _Why does he always stare at me like that? It's like he's constantly looking for something that isn't there… and it really, really bothers me._

Sesshomaru finally walked passed her without a word, kimono sleeve brushing against her arm.

"Come on, Miss Rue!" Rin laughed, grabbing her hand and leading her away. "We really need to keep going!"

"Okay, okay!" the teenager hastily replied, stumbling forward in an awkward attempt to keep her balance. They left the village after being there only an hour and headed towards the sun. Rin skipped around, dancing across the grass like any care-free child; Jaken remained close to Sesshomaru as usual; and Rue drifted beyond the group, walking behind the dragon they called Aun.

She was feeling so lonely that she was almost starting to miss the bullies at school.

However, out here—wherever she was—Rue felt more open and free.

After a time, Rin joined her and began asking her questions about the stuff she liked, her family, and her home. Rue tried to answer the girl the best that she could, but she simply didn't have the energy or the will to talk. When it became apparent that Rue was reluctant to talk about herself, Rin improvised and began telling her about the girl she'd mentioned, Kagome. Rue thought she sounded like a good person from what she was being told, but either way, the girl couldn't help her since she wasn't even from the same time period as Rue. The silver-haired girl spent most of her time staring down at her feet as she walked with the odd group of people she'd found, but eventually she took off her dress shoes and stockings so she could wade through the tall grass in her bare feet.

When they passed by a river, she took a quick second to walk through the cool water in an attempt to cool off her feet and give them some relief. When the sun finally began to set, they came to a waterhole. Rue gasped when she saw the beautiful waterfall spilling over a ledge into it. Rin tied Aun to a nearby tree and sat on a log to take a small break; Jaken stared off at the waterfall for a long moment before he turned around and went to the demon lord.

"My Lord, these are definitely the right caves. Is what you're looking for inside, sire?" Jaken inquired.

Sesshomaru didn't answer him; instead of responding with words, he went over to Aun and untied a sword from the side of the dragon's saddle before sliding it into an empty scabbard resting against his thigh—right above another sheathed sword that was already tied around his waist. Armed with his weapons, he started moving toward the waterfall while Rue looked on in confusion.

"Rin, you're on your on for now," he called over his shoulder.

"Yes, My Lord!" the child called back with a wave.

_He's leaving us again?_ Rue wondered, shifting her weight as a sudden feeling of unease swept over her.

"Wish to add something, do you?" Sesshomaru suddenly asked, catching her off guard.

She glanced up in surprise, watching as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"No," Rue replied simply, not even bothering to cover up her irritated tone of voice. "If I did, I'd have said something."

"Ungrateful child," Jaken growled under his breath, following the demon as he disappeared through the waterfall.

Rue sighed heavily and shook her head, falling backwards into the soft grass as exhaustion swept through her. She let her body lie there limply as she gazed up at the darkening sky with sparkling golden eyes. Nearby, she heard the creek tumbling over the rocks as it continued on its way toward the river, which was about a mile back the way they had come. Birds called to each other in nearby trees, and bugs chirped and buzzed around. Wherever she was, this place was so full of life that it made her hometown seem dull.

"Well, well, well! Look here, boys! It's our pretty little runaway!" a familiar booming voice laughed uproariously, breaking the soothing rhythm of the forest in an instant. "Ooh, and she's made a cute friend!"

Rue's golden eyes snapped open wide as her breath hitched in her throat, frozen in disbelieving and terror.

"Miss Miharu, look out!" Rin suddenly screamed.

The sound of the little girl's frightened cry sent Rue's body into motion, and she rolled backwards—using her hands to spring her body into the air and back onto her feet. A loud, ear-piercing snap cracked near her ear only a second later, and she spun away from the sound before wildly trying to locate the source. There, coming through the trees not even six feet away, were the very men who'd tried to kidnap Rue before she'd fallen into the river. Rin hopped off of the log and darted over to Aun, clinging to his leg.

The dragon hissed at the men when Rue began to back away.

She hastily began glancing around for somewhere to run.

"Don't even think about it!" the leader roared, lifting his weapon and snapping at her face.

Rue let out an involuntary shriek and dove to the side, attempting to get out of the way of the weapon as it cracked at her. She stumbled to her feet again immediately afterwards and started sprinting for Aun and Rin, but she didn't even make it three steps away before the thick rope snapped again and wound tightly around her throat. Rue let out a strangled cry as the metal-studded leather jerked her to a halt, and she yipped when the man yanked her around toward him and pulled down to her knees. She immediately grit her teeth in pain and grabbed onto the whip with both hands, scrabbling at it in a feeble attempt to pull it away from her neck.

"You idiot! If you cut her up too much, she won't be worth anything!" one of the men snapped angrily. "If you kill her, she's not even good enough to sell to a brothel! Be a little easier on her!"

"If we go too easy on her, she'll never learn to follow orders!" the man holding the whip sneered. "Besides, I kind of enjoy watching our future slaves squirm in pain before we take them in and brand them like cattle."

_No more,_ Rue thought weakly to herself, tugging at the whip and uttering an incoherent squeak as sickening black and red spots began to swim across her vision. _Don't sell me into slavery… I won't let you do that to me… I'll… I'll…_

"Miss Miharu, just hang on! I'm coming!" Rin cried, running to her side and pulling hard on the whip. "Let go of Miss Miharu right now, you big meanies! I won't let you kill her! I won't let you hurt her anymore! Let go of Miss Miharu, right now! Please, just let her go!"

The men only laughed at the little girl's pathetic struggle, watching with amused expressions as she cut her hands on the metal studs embedded in the whip. The sight of the little girl's blood stirred an unfamiliar rage from deep within Rue's soul: without even realizing that a change was taking place, her golden irises began to ripple like water before a violent crimson light flared out of her pupils, radiating outward and obscuring the entirety of her eyes. When the light vanished, her yellow irises began rippling in hue from their normal gold to a burning crimson, darkening to a bloody red as the inhuman hatred filled her heart.

_Where is all of this rage coming from?_ Rue wondered vaguely, body slowly beginning to go slack as her vision was filled with nothing but black and red. _Is all of this anger really mine…? It feels so… strange… and…_

"Lord Sesshomaru-maru-maru—help us-us-us!" Rin's voice shrieked desperately, coming from somewhere so far away that it almost seemed to be the shadow of an echo. Another whipping sound suddenly sliced through the air along with the echo, and Rue's fading mind feared that the men had targeted Rin—but then a sizzling, melting sound followed and she was released with a jerk. She hit the ground hard on her back, but when she once again tried to breathe she gave up the struggle.

"_Miharu-ru-ru! Miss Miharu-ru-ru, don't die-die-die!_" Rin cried, voice seeming to echo. "_Please-ease-ease!_"

Rue's darkening vision made out that the child was pulling at the remainder of the whip wrapped around her neck. She was trying to unwind it from around her throat, but her small fingers weren't quick enough: Rue could already feel the awful pressure building up in her head from the pressure of her blocked arteries and lack of oxygen. Suddenly, strong hands were pulling her limp form off the ground and a sharp object slid under the whip, slicing right through it. Immediately taking in a searing breath that seemed to tear her inner throat open, Rue gasped heavily and heaved for the air she'd been deprived of.

Her vision slowly began to return as she coughed, but all of the strength had gone out of her body.

"Miss Rue!" Rin cried, once again seeming to be right next to her.

She felt the girl's small hands touch her softly on her neck, and Rue flinched silently as the gentle contact painfully seared through her body. When she finally found enough strength to open her eyes, they popped open wide: Sesshomaru's face was only an inch from her own. She inexplicably began to tremble when he gently lifted her chin and bushed gently under the place the whip had been: his fingers came away covered in blood. Rue felt her stomach flop when he began to lift her up by her arm. She weakly tried to pull away, but only a second later she was in the air and cradled in his strong arm. He held her easily, cradled protectively in his grasp because of that one arm's powerful grip around her tiny waist. Quite abruptly, she went limp and just let him do it: she was too tired to care.

"Jaken, I leave them to you," he instructed to the imp.

"Yes, my Lord!" the little creature laughed evilly. With a nod, Sesshomaru proceeded to lift Rue into the front seat of the saddle resting on the dragon's back, laying her immobile form flat on the leather.

"Rin," he uttered simply, and only a moment later Rin was in the saddle sitting behind her.

A fiery wind suddenly washed over her body, Rue wearily opened her eyes to find out what it was. Jaken was standing with the creepy staff held high into the air, and a long stream of fire was shooting out the mouth of the woman's shrunken head, engulfing the group of screaming men as they writhed in agony before dissolving into skeletons and collapsing. She immediately squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase the memory from her mind and pretend she'd never seen it. Yet she had: those men had died right in front of her.

_This place is terrible,_ Rue whimpered silently.

It was the last thought she had before she passed out.

**TXXXXXT**

The soft crackling of a fire slowly began to wake her up again.

Stirring slightly and letting out a little catlike mew, Rue had a desire to be at home with her mother in front of the fire.

However, the moment she opened her eyes... that wish vanished like smoke in the wind: the star-filled sky stretched endlessly above her and the long field-grass swayed around her in the gentle breeze. After taking in a deep breath and sighing heavily, Rue slowly sat up and looked around. The blue outer layer of her kimono was lying beside her bedroll, folded up neatly. She shivered as the wind brushed right through the thin white under layer. On her other side, Rin was sleeping soundly. The fire crackled beyond the little girl, and beyond that was Jaken, who was leaning against Aun as they both slept instantly looked around for their last companion, but he was nowhere in sight: everything around the campsite was silent.

"Well, I guess I can go back to sleep…" Rue murmured, sliding back down under the blanket that covered her. The second she moved her neck, however, a ripping pain seared around the base of her throat. "YOWCH! Holy—?!"

"Huh?" Rin mumbled sleepily, sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes. "Oh, Miss Rue… are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm much better," Rue replied through gritted teeth. "You can go back to sleep."

"'Kay," Rin yawned, curling back up and closing her eyes once again. "G'night."

In less than thirty seconds, the small child was sleeping soundly once again.

_Damn… I wish I could fall asleep that fast. It's almost unfair how simple little kids are,_ Rue noted silently, blinking twice in rapid succession as she stared at the girl in awed disbelief. She didn't dare touch her neck again, so she moved as carefully as she could when she pulled the covers back up to her shoulders. Feeling exhausted, Rue also let her eyes close and allowed herself to drift off.


	5. Chapter 4: A Familiar Face

**Chapter Four: A Familiar Face **

When the sun began shining on her face, Rue woke up from the dream she had been having, but oddly enough… she couldn't seem to recall it at all. The only firm detail that seemed to have stuck was the feeling that gentle hands had been brushing her hair out of her face while warm lips kissed her around the neck. The weirdest part after she woke up was the fact that could almost still feel those warm lips lingering on her skin: it kind of felt as though it had been more than a dream, and her throat honestly felt a lot better.

"Oh!" Rin greeted cheerfully, stretching her tiny limbs. "Good morning, Miss Miharu!"

"Same to you," Rue murmured, sitting up and stretching out her own limbs. "Do you always get up this early?"

"If I can't sleep, yes," Rin replied, climbing to her feet and skipping over to Aun.

"Hey, I dunno about you, but I'm starving," Rue sighed, looking around with curious yellow eyes and tried to spit everything that had changed while she'd been sleeping. After a moment she realized that Jaken and Sesshomaru must have left sometime during the night because she couldn't spot either of them anywhere. "Rin, do we have anything to eat for breakfast?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Yes we do!" Rin squealed in delight, reaching into one of Aun's saddlebags and pulling out some bread before bringing it over to Rue. "See?! Here you go! You need to eat in order to get all better! Yesterday was really scary, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... it was more than just a little frightening for me," Rue murmured quietly, stoic expression becoming somewhat haunted as her mind drifted over the dreadful memories of the previous night. "I really thought that I was going to die from asphyxiation."

"It was a good thing Lord Sesshomaru and Master Jaken came back to help us," Rin noted offhandedly, getting to her feet and patting Aun on both of his heads. "Since they did, the wound around your neck probably won't be there forever."

The dragon-like creature purred as she rubbed both chins lovingly, catching the older girl's attention in a soft way.

"My neck doesn't hurt as much today," Rue quietly admitted. "It feels as though it's getting better already."

"Good!" Rin exclaimed, then turned to look at her expectantly. "Are you ready to go?"

"Now?" Rue asked, feeling a little surprised. "Shouldn't we wait for them to come back and find us?"

"Yeah, but if we stay in one spot too long, a demon could find us," Rin explained, pulling Rue to her feet. "That would be bad."

"How will we get anywhere, though?" Rue quipped with raised eyebrows. "It'll take forever to walk by ourselves, and I have absolutely no idea where we're going… or even where we are right now, for that matter. As far as I'm concerned, we're lost at the moment."

"Aun will take us," Rin stated simply, and together they mounted onto Aun's back.

With an unexpected leap forward, the great beast charged seven steps before jumping into the air.

"EEEK!" Rue shrieked, voice coming out in an improbably high-pitched soprano only a split second before the breath was snatched out of her mouth: the ground rapidly dropped away below them, and her golden eyes widened in shock as it continued to do so. "Ehhhh?! Rin-chan, you didn't tell me that Aun could fly! Wow, this is absolutely incredible!"

"I know! I love flying with Aun!" Rin piped back, laughing at the look of disbelief on Rue's delicate face. The wind whipped at the girls' hair as they flew across the land, slowly going higher and higher. Rue glanced around in excitement as her waist-length silver hair tossed wildly in the wind: trees were beginning to look like blades of grass and fields were painting themselves into the scenery.

It was like something straight out of a fairy tale... something that wasn't possible.

"Wow," Rue whispered in amazement, gazing down at the land with rapturous eyes. "This is so magical!"

"Aun can find Lord Sesshomaru easily because of his scent," Rin giggled happily. "We should be with them again really soon."

"So, he can… smell them?" Rue inquired, once again feeling amazed. "Like a dog sniffing out a rabbit?"

"Yep," Rin laughed, hugging the beast around both necks. "Aun's great!"

"Yeah, he actually is," Rue agreed, truly smiling for the first time in several years. Something red suddenly caught the girl's attention as they flew over a field, and she glanced toward the area that the color had appeared. She squinted to see better since her eyes weren't very good at seeing so far away, but soon she straightened up in surprise and blinked.

_People!_ she silently exclaimed. _There's a small group of four people down there! Wow, they're so tiny!_

"Hey, look down there, Rin-chan!" Rue exclaimed excitedly, tapping the little girl on the shoulder. "Those people look like itty bitty ants from up all the way up here! This is so cool! I still can't believe we're flying on the back of a dragon!"

"People? Where did you see them?" Rin asked, squinting in the direction that Rue promptly pointed; she suddenly stiffened in excitement and cried, "Oh, oh—Aun, take us down there! Please, right now!"

The beast obediently began to descend, flying lower and lower until they were close to landing in the field.

Rue's jaw dropped open in disbelief when she saw that one of the travelers was riding a bike.

"No way!" she exclaimed, gawping at the mode of transportation. "Could bikes really be that old?!"

"Miss Kagome!" Rin shouted gleefully, waving as they began to land; the young woman sitting on the bike instantly stopped and turned around with an expression of surprise. However, when she saw the dragon making its way toward them, her eyes noticeably widened.

"Inuyasha, hold up!" she called ahead.

"I don't wanna!" a man with snow-white hair loudly shot back. "That's Sesshomaru's gang if you hadn't noticed!"

"I said hold it!" the girl snapped, scowling even as Aun landed next to her.

"Hi, Miss Kagome!" Rin greeted, face seeming brighter than usual.

"Hello, Rin-chan," the black-haired girl laughed, smiling in response to her cheerful greeting. "So, what made you take the time to come down here? This is the first time I've ever seen you go out of your way to visit me and Inuyasha of your own free will."

"I have someone you need to meet!" Rin laughed, crawling off of Aun's back. "I think she comes from your country!"

"Huh? _My_ country?" the girl whispered, face becoming serious in an instant.

Rue looked down at the ground seven feet below, judged how she needed to land in order not to hurt herself, and nimbly leapt off of Aun's back. Her waist-length white hair trailed above her like a shimmering silver cloud that reflected the sunlight like a mirror: the silver-white locks slid across her shoulders like a blanket when she landed and daintily stood up. After smoothing out her short-sleeved sailor shirt and dusting off her knee-length green skirt, Rue stood stiffly beside Aun and gazed at the travelers with emotionless eyes.

However, she was feeling extremely awkward despite her disinterested visage: meeting new people had never been one of her strongest points, especially since the time that Tsuruuki and his buddies had… hurt her.

"This is Miss Miharu Tachibana!" Rin gleefully exclaimed, introducing the small girl to everyone.

Rue glanced up at the black-haired girl, but her bored expression instantly dissolved and she squeaked in surprise.

"You're the girl who's family owns Higurashi Shrine!" Rue exclaimed, clutching her blazer in shock. "Kagome-san is here?!"

"Huh?" Kagome asked, staring down at Rue: however, an odd mixture of mortification, horror, and extreme relief flashed across the girl's face when she took in Rue's school clothes, silver hair, round golden eyes, and fair features. "Oh, my... oh, my... no way!"

"Miss Kagome, are you okay?" Rin asked in concern, noticing the tall girl's unusual expression almost immediately.

"Oh, my God," Kagome Higurashi whispered, touching Rue's cheek with a look of horrified awe. "You're the girl who went missing! The one with all the diaries about what our classmates did to you! Miharu-chan, how on earth did you get here?! How did this happen?!"

"What did you say about my diaries?!" Rue squeaked in mortification, drawing back instantly and staring at the girl in horror. "How the heck do you know about what I wrote about in my diaries?! Did Tsuruuki read them and brag to everyone about what he and all of his friends did to me, or did someone else read my diaries and spread the rumors?! Did _you_ read them?! What's going on back home?!"

"No! No! Miharu-chan, it's nothing like that!" Kagome instantly protested, waving her arms. "Everyone's been talking about you for the past three days! They've been showing pictures of you on the news, and the media posted pages of your diaries in the newspaper and they're still talking about them on television! Everyone's outraged by what those kids put you through, and a few of them are being questioned about your disappearances because of what you wrote! They all think that you might be dead back home!"

"They've been reading my diaries on the _news?!"_ Rue shrieked, paling from the sheer horror. "NO! Why do they even care?!"

"I don't know how to answer that, but I _can_ tell you that a lot of people in Northern and Southern Japan are angry enough to start a riot over what happened to you," Kagome instantly replied, mouth twisting in anger for a moment. "Believe it or not, I'm one of them. If I had known those jerks who came to my family's Shrine had done all… _that_ to you, I would have kicked their butts to the moon."

"That's nice to know," Rue replied dejectedly, hanging her head until a new thought struck her. "Hey! Since they've been showing my face all over the news, they've had to have talked to my mom, right? Did you see how she was doing? Is she okay? How is she?!"

"Um…" Kagome whispered, looking down at the ground with an uncomfortable expression. "Miharu-chan, um… your Oka-san, uh… she's… um, she's not… doing so good, right now. Like, not good at all, really… as in, very, very bad."

"What do you mean?" Rue whispered anxiously, head snapping back up: her large eyes slowly began to glitter with fear.

"Er, what I mean is, uh," Kagome stammered, obviously wishing that she were somewhere else. "Um, well… she's…"

"Would you just get on with it and tell the brat that her mother's dead, Kagome?" the white-haired boy standing behind her finally snapped in irritation, glaring at her back. "Jeez, it's not like you're trying to explain where babies come from."

"D-dead…?" Rue whispered, staring vacantly ahead as a sickening green color tinted her vision and the world began to tilt; without even realizing it, she slammed into the ground and stared up at the sky as a violent pain assaulted her chest, seeming to be ripping her heart in half with crushing force. She slowly curled up into a ball and clutched her head as a loud ringing noise filled her ears, drowning out the startled voices around her before fading into numbness. She suddenly felt so sick that she thought she was going to faint.

_I'm alone again,_ Rue whispered silently, whimpering as she squeezed her eyes shut. _Why did this have to happen to me? My mom died because I disappeared, and now—even if I do go back—I won't have anyone waiting for me! I'll be sent back to the foster home!_

"Miss Miharu!" Rin shouted into her ear, violently shaking her arm. "Miss Miharu! Hey, are you okay?! Miss Miharu, don't die!"

"Ow! Ow! I'm fine! Stop shaking me!" Rue cried hoarsely, slowly uncurling her body and dizzily sitting up despite her nausea: the albino girl suddenly became aware that everyone was staring down at her in concern—even Aun, and he was a dragon. "You know, all of you can stop staring at me anytime now… like, _any_ time. I'm okay, really, I just… I didn't… my Oka-san… my mother…"

"Pathetic," the white-haired boy sneered. "You swooned just like Kagome does, so you're definitely from her country."

"Inuyasha, shut up!" Kagome snapped angrily, flashing the young man a glare before turning back to Rue. "I'm really, really sorry about your mother, Rue-chan… I really am, but I need to know how you got here, so... do you… think you can maybe tell me what happened to you back at my Shrine? Did you go through the bone-eater's well and travel to the Feudal Era like I do?"

"Bone-eater's well?" Rue asked in quiet confusion. "No, I didn't even _see_ a well, Kagome-san! I was sucked into a tree!"

"Sucked… into a tree?" Kagome scoffed, staring at her with an inscrutable expression. Rue nodded and quickly explained everything that had happened to her—from the odd experience of falling through the void of colorful lights to the way she'd crashed painfully into the world she was currently residing in. Kagome listened quietly and let her explain everything, but the older girl immediately insisted that she take a look at Rue's neck when she told them about her second run-in with the bandits.

"I have something that can help you," Kagome noted offhandedly, opening an emergency kit that she pulled from the basket on the front of her bike. "The injury's actually not all that bad… considering it was made by a metal-studded whip."

"I can't believe another human is traveling with Sesshomaru," the other woman sighed. "I thought he hated them."

Kagome had introduced all of them earlier: Sango, the woman who'd spoken, was a demon slayer who used the giant boomerang hanging across her back protect herself and her friends; sitting on the rock beside her was a cute little boy who had been introduced as Shippo—a full fox demon with red hair and tan fur that covered his entire body. There was also a man dressed in thirteenth-century monk robes who'd been introduced as Miroku, and he carried a bronze staff that was topped with a knob and loose-hanging rings.

The last member of the group was an extremely cynical white-haired boy named Inuyasha.

"Agreed," Miroku said with a nod. "Why would he take in another human if he does hate them so much?"

"I'm with Miroku on this one," Inuyasha muttered, glaring straight at Rue with familiar golden eyes. "He surprised me the first time when we found out that Rin was staying with him, but now he has another—much older—human girl… and that can only mean he's planning some sort of trouble. I don't like what he's doing, especially since this girl seems extremely naive."

"So, you guys know him?" Rue asked quietly, observing Inuyasha's expression closely.

"Yeah, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are brothers," Kagome answered, putting away her supplies, "but, Inuyasha's a half demon and Sesshomaru's a full demon because they both had different mothers. So, technically, they're only half brothers."

"Kagome, what the heck are you thinking?!" Inuyasha snapped angrily, whirling around to glare at the girl. "Don't tell her about my family problems so casually! I don't know anything about her, so you have no right to say anything like that!"

"Inuyasha, Miharu has suffered more than you'll ever know—and she dealt with it in silence!" Kagome retorted loudly, glaring at him just as fiercely. "If you knew about even a fraction of the things she's gone through, you would feel pretty stupid when you're being grumpy about your own problems. She's a brave girl from my time who suffered when she didn't have to—and on top of that, the poor thing just found out she's lost her mother in a really unpleasant way thanks to your insensitivity!"

"I could tell that they were related, anyway," Rue mumbled after a moment of complete silence.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Inuyasha snapped, shooting a glare at her. "You a psychic or something?"

"No, but you both share similar features: the silver hair, the yellow eyes, the same bad-boy attitudes—it's all there. I would've figured it out sooner or later, even if Kagome hadn't told me," Rue explained getting to her feet and dusting her skirt off before her golden gaze was drawn to the doggy ears resting on the half-demon's head. "Whoa… hang on a second! Are… a-are your ears actually _real?"_

"Why wouldn't they be?" Inuyasha snapped, staring suspiciously when Rue padded over, stood up on the farthest tips of her toes, and touched them with the tips of the fingers on both of her hands: she was only four feet and six inches tall, after all.

"Ooh, they're warm!" Rue squealed in amazement, poking the twitching dog ears in childish fascination. "And they're fuzzy, too! Kyaaa! This is totally awesome! I wish I had ears like these!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Inuyasha snapped, grabbing her wrists and pushing her away. "Get offa me!"

"Kagome-san," Rue whispered to the girl after she'd hastily returned to her seat. "Is he always this… moody?"

"Most of the time, but trust me… he a really good guy," Kagome replied just as quietly, smiling a little bit. The silver-haired girl glanced first at Kagome's dreamy smile, then at Inuyasha—who'd glanced away with a faint blush staining his cheeks—and smiled when she finally comprehended the situation: the two of them probably had feelings for each other.

"Are you heading back to our time anytime soon?" Rue inquired hopefully. "If you are, could I travel with you?"

"Well…" Kagome began, looking a little thoughtful. "Maybe we could—"

"Kagome, we're on the trail of Naraku right now!" Inuyasha snapped, cutting the girl off. "We can't just turn around and go all the way back to Kaede's village to get some brat from your time back home! There's no way in hell!"

"Inuyasha, we could still let her come with us," Kagome retorted, shooting him a reproachful glare. "I know full and well what she's going through… because I can still remember how it was for me during the first few days I was here—and really, Rue's situation is a lot worse than mine was because her mother died from the shock of her disappearance. She could use someone to talk to, especially since she has no idea what's going on right now! She wasn't here when the Jewel shattered!"

"Kagome has a point, and we can't just let such an exotic young lady return to a demon who hates humans," Miroku added slyly, squatting down next to Rue when the small girl blinked up at him. "She'll be much safer with us, I can guarantee it."

The silver-haired girl stiffened and a shiver ran up her spine when the man's large hand began stroking her backside, and she instantly let out a hysterical shriek. Leaping to her feet with both hands clamped onto her butt, Rue instinctively kicked him in the stomach only a moment before Sango backhanded him—effectively sending the poor monk sprawling into the dirt.

"Pervert!" Rue squealed, dancing away from him.

"Lecher!" Sango snapped simultaneously.

"The answer is no, Kagome," Inuyasha snapped, jabbing a finger in Rue's direction. "We can't afford to be slowed down any more than what we are, and she'd just get in the way like any other slow human girl. There's no way I'm saying yes."

"Hey, that's rude!" Rue snapped, turning on the half-demon as she planted a hand on her hip. "For one thing, I'm one of the fastest long-distance runners ever to join the track team in my particular age-group: I've _even_ had people try to get me into the Olympics last year because of how quick I am! I know my limitations better than you do, Dog Boy, so don't assume that I can't keep up—because I wouldn't have suggested tagging along if there were even a _slight_ chance that I couldn't hold my own. For another thing, I don't like being looked down on for simply being me! If you want have a problem, find a reason to be irritated… because getting angry at a girl for being born as a human isn't very a creative insult, even for a dimwit like you! Know what I mean?"

"So what if it isn't creative! If it's the truth, it doesn't matter if it's creative!" Inuyasha snapped as he stormed up to her, bent down, and glared right into her eyes. "The truth is, little girl, that you're just a stupid, pathetic, worthless little… huh?"

"You were saying?" Rue inquired icily when he trailed off and his nose twitched.

"You smell weird…" he muttered, staring at the girl with suspicious yellow eyes. _"Really_ weird."

"Excuse me?!" Rue scoffed angrily. "Would you care to repeat that?"

"I said, '_you smell weird!_'" Inuyasha repeated loudly, enunciating the last three words. "Jeez, you _are_ slow."

"Inuyasha," Kagome suddenly growled, standing up with an angry expression on her face.

"Kagome, don't," the half demon instantly protested. "I didn't mean it like that! I only meant—no, wait!"

"SIT!" Kagome Takakashi shouted, forcefully jabbing her finger toward the ground in front of her. A violet glow instantly surrounded the beads around Inuyasha's neck, and he slammed face-first into the ground with a yelp—right in front of Rue.

"Yikes, not cool!" Rue cried, leaping back with a startled expression when the white-haired boy's body dropped and created a deep hole in the ground. "Jeez… what the heck did you just do to him, Kagome-san? He literally made a crater in the ground!"

"I used the necklace that holds his spirit," Kagome explained, glancing at the smaller girl. "With that one word, I can slam him into the ground at any time I see fit. I only do it when he's being bad, though, so it's not like this is an everyday thing."

"I feel kind of sorry for him," Rue murmured in amazement, staring down into the hole that Inuyasha was lying in.

"Miss Miharu, we have to get going now," Rin whispered, tugging on the girl's hand.

"Well," Rue sighed with a shrug, staring down at her feet with emotionless eyes. "I'll stay with Sesshomaru until I get to the village."

"If you get there before us, stay with Lady Kaede," Kagome sighed, patting Rue on the shoulder. "Tell her you know us and that we sent you there. We should be coming back soon if we can't get any more leads on Naraku. Oh, and here—I'll lend you some of my stuff to make your travels a bit easier… I know how hard it can be to go without some of our modern things."

Without waiting for a reply, she went over to the huge, packed yellow backpack strapped down onto the rear of her bike. A few minutes later she returned with a handful of stuff: a small sleeping bag, a smaller box of emergency supplies than the one in her bike basket, a travel-pack of shampoo and soap, a handheld flashlight, and—best of all—three, normal-looking outfits.

The first outfit consisted of a brown plaid school skirt, a black tank-top, an off-the shoulder white sweatshirt, an alternative black off-the-shoulder sweatshirt, and black biker boots; the second consisted of a classic-looking knee-length black school skirt, a white button-up dress shirt, a pair of black suede tennis-shoes, and a sunhat fit for leisurely gardening; the third consisted of a white dress with ties to hold it onto the shoulder, a sash to wrap around the waist, a pair of sandals, and another sunhat with a frilly pink ribbon.

"Wow, Kagome-san!" Rue exclaimed, clasping her hands together gratefully. "Are you sure that this is okay?"

"Yeah, it's no problem at all!" the Japanese girl laughed, smiling brightly at the silver-haired girl. "I already bring along two sleeping bags anyway, but most of the time we stay in friendly villages so we don't use the second one very often. Plus, I never wear any of those clothes: my mom makes me take these outfits along with me just in case something happens to my school uniform. "

"Thanks a lot!" Rue said with a small, grateful smile as she took the things Kagome was holding out for her. "I guess I'll see you all at the village, then… the woman's name is Kaede, right?"

_"Hai,"_ Kagome confirmed, nodding.

"Okay, then," Rue replied softly, looking down at the ground as she added, "you guys be careful, okay?"

"You, too, Rue-chan," Kagome said softly, face becoming a little sad as her eyes softened. "I'm sorry about what happened to your mom... I really wish that I could do something to make it easier for you, even if it's a little thing."

"Well, with me missing and my mother dead, they'll probably clear out our stuff," Rue replied, using a few tactics from her mental training to keep from crying. "If you get home before me, could you go to my house and get my things? My room is third on the left."

"Of course!" Kagome sighed. "Just tell me where you live, and I'll be there the second I get back to the present."

"Thank you," Rue replied softly. "I live at 127 North Hiijaki Street, near the western part of Tokyo's forest preserve. It's not very far from your family's shrine, maybe a few miles. You'll find the spare key to our front door taped beneath the mailbox, right next to the driveway. I'd… really appreciate it if you could go into the largest room and grab the pendant hanging on the stand next to the bureau to bring back with you. It was avery special gift that I gave to my mother on her last birthday, and I want to keep it with me."

"Done," Kagome stated firmly, then pulled Rue into a fierce hug. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Likewise," Rue replied, returning the embrace warmly.

"It was indeed a pleasure meeting you, Tachibana Miharu," Sango stated, bowing. "I hope we see each other again soon."

"Yes," Miroku agreed.

"Be careful around my brother, Kiddo," Inuyasha called emotionlessly, waving as he walked away down the path. "If he tries to give you any trouble, tell him that you know me now. I'd love to have an excuse to beat him up!"

Rue smiled a little, waving at all of them as they left. The girl could already tell that she and Inuyasha would eventually become good friends, despite his crass way of getting things done.

"Okay," Rue finally sighed, shaking her head as she turned to the child standing beside her. "Let's get going, Rin."

"This can be your bag now, Miss Rue," Rin said quietly, helping the teenager pack the new supplies into an empty backpack tied onto the saddle. "I bought it at the last town just in case you ever got some of your own supplies!"

"Thanks," Rue replied quietly, not meeting the child's eyes.

After packing up, they climbed onto Aun's back and took to the skies once again. About an hour later, they landed in the center of a field not even ten feet in front of Sesshomaru and Jaken. Rin jumped down off of Aun, ran over to Jaken, and threw her arms around him—despite the fact that the imp flailed his arms in protest. Rue smiled softly at the two despite the aching pain in her breast: he might not have shown it, but she could tell simply by the look in the imp's yellow eyes that he really cared about the little girl.

"Where have you two been?" Jaken demanded.

"We ran into Miss Kagome, and we found out that…" Rin started to explain, but then halted and glanced at Rue's face just as an agonized expression crossed the older girl's features. Instantly avoiding the subject of her mother's passing and the terrible situation going on at home, Rin hastily began again and said, "um, Miss Kagome had some really neat medicine for Miss Miharu's wounds. They also said they were on the trail of that evil demon, Naraku... do you think they'll find him before we do, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Of course not, girl! Lord Sesshomaru will find him first!" Jaken snapped, watching Rin with suspicious eyes as she danced alongside of the demon-lord. Rue held onto Aun's reins as she followed them, mourning her mother's death in silence despite the fact that she wanted to start screaming with the emotional agony ripping her heart apart. Trying to divert her attention from the pain, she stared at Sesshomaru's hand. She couldn't see his other hand, but his kimono sleeve couldn't have be longer on one side because they seemed to be even from where she stood. Next, she glanced at his hair; it was shinier, smoother, and much longer than Inuyasha's—nearly hanging down to the back of his knees. Alarmingly enough, his hair was so similar to hers that she was a little creeped out.

Within no time at all, they had camp set up and a hearty fire was blazing.

Taking advantage of her new supplies, Rue took the shampoo and soap pack that Kagome had given her and padded down to the nearby river so she could bathe and wash herself off. Rin, after seeing what she was planning on doing, lent the girl a cloth to dry off with and went with her. Stripping down, Rue walked to the edge of the highest ledge and stood on her toes. Closing her eyes, she bent her knees and dove into the water like a professional, breaking the surface of the river's deepest point with barely a ripple.

The water was cold, but Rue dealt with it because she was covered in dirt and her hair felt filthy.

"Oh, Miss Miharu! Where did all those scars come from?! That big one is horrible!" Rin gasped, pointing to the older girl's more-than-slightly rounded chest after she broke the surface: a puckered, moon-shaped scar traveled from the center of the girl's chest and stretched all the way down past her ribs, cutting across her side and ending in the small of her back.

Rue's eyes instantly dropped and she defensively lowered herself deeper in the water.

"I was… in a car accident that almost killed me when I was younger," Rue said softly, closing her eyes. "The big scar was created both from the damage the accident did to me, and what the doctors did when they saved my life. It'll never go away."

"I'm sorry," Rin murmured awkwardly, drawing on the surface of the water with her toes. "I'm too nosy for my own good."

"It's okay," Rue said with a small smile, but the grin quickly faded away.

"Miss Miharu, where did those two little scars on your arms come from?" Rin asked, then hastily added, "if you don't mind."

"They were made by very mean boys… who enjoy hurting other people," Rue stated simply, expression turning a little grim as she gently touched the scars. "They didn't like anyone who was different from themselves, so they hurt me… badly."

"Oh, my," Rin murmured, realization dawning on her face, "were they the mean boys miss Kagome was talking about?"

"Yes," Rue stiffly replied, pressing her lips tightly together as she valiantly fought off another urge to cry.

"Miss Miharu… do you have any siblings?" Rin suddenly asked, looking up at her with an odd wistfulness; the unexpected question caught Rue off guard, and she turned around to look at the little girl with curious yellow eyes.

"Not anymore," Rue quietly replied, staring at the girl as her eyes saddened. "I had two older sisters and a little brother, but they were all killed in the accident that gave me the scar on my chest. I'm completely alone now that my mother is gone."

"Can I be your sister, then?" Rin asked quietly, looking hopeful and direly afraid at the same time.

"What do you mean?" Rue inquired, blinking in confusion. "Don't you have any family?"

"My mommy and daddy were killed by demons, and my big brothers were killed by wolves," Rin confessed quietly; Rue's heart turned soft when little girl's cheerful demeanor was suddenly replaced with an adult-like torment, and the raw pain she saw seemed out of place on the face of such a young child. Her own tormented heart instantly recognized the type of hurt.

"You know what, Rin?" Rue sighed, climbing out of the water and wrapping her body in the dry cloth. "I've always wanted to have a little sister, so... u-um, if you really want to, you can be my unofficial little sister from now on. I'll take care of you no matter what."

"Really?!" Rin gasped excitedly, running over to Rue and throwing her little arms around the girl's slender waist. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I really have a sister! You're my new big sister, Miss Miharu, my new _Onee-chan_!"

"You're welcome," Rue giggled, peeling the child off of her leg so she could get dressed."By the way... you can call me Rue."

Once they'd put on their clothes one again, the two girls gathered their belongings before heading back to camp. Rin moved to sit by the fire while Rue gently combed her fingers through her long wet hair. Joining Rin by the fire, the girl began to wring out her hair next to the heat. However, when most of the water was out of her soft silver locks, she pulled it behind her head and started to tie it into a half-up ponytail with her hair-tie… but a sudden snap caused her to jerk to a stop. She pulled her hand back and stared in disbelief.

"Aw… it broke," Rue sighed dejectedly, looking down at the tie in defeat. "That was the last rubber band I had, too."

A twig snapped behind her and she stiffened slightly, realizing that somebody was there.

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru! Miss Rue's hairpiece broke, and now she doesn't have any!" Rin promptly reported; Rue planted her chin in her left hand and held the black band in front of with her right, silently staring at it with an annoyed expression before dropping her arm with a sigh. She stood up and was about to go put the broken band in her new bag when she immediately came to a halt and blinked: two extremely long, iridescent pink-and-purple ribbons were hanging in the air not even an inch away from her small nose.

On each ends of both were small golden bells that chimed as they gently hit each other.

"Huh?" Rue whispered, glancing up into Sesshomaru's golden eyes as he silently held it out to her.

She glanced back at the beautiful ribbons with large eyes, not really knowing how to react; her momentary pause made the demon impatient, though. She let out a startled yip when he unexpectedly grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, and her hands flew up to keep her face from smacking against his armor. She shivered while the demon lord's hands moved rapidly through her long white hair, flinching violently when he suddenly moved away: the rapid act had startled her badly.

Rue's hands instantly flew to her hair in an attempt to find out what he'd done, but her eyes widened in shocked surprise the moment she touched it: her long hair had been tied back into her favorite half-up style—but instead of the top layer being pulled into a simple ponytail, the demon lord had intricately braided the locks before tying them back into a joined, half-up braid. The first ribbon had been tied into a large bow at the beginning of the braid, while the second one had been tied at the base. Rue looked around to find out where he'd gone so she could thank him, but he was already seated by a tree with his yellow eyes closed.

_He couldn't have fallen asleep that fast,_ Rue thought silently to herself, slowly getting to her feet.

She was just about to go thank him when Jaken stepped in front of her and raised a hand.

"Leave Lord Sesshomaru alone, child!" the imp snapped. "He needs to rest much more than you do!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to be nice!" Rue hissed, swinging her hand and gritting her teeth. While she was glaring down at him, his eyes widened a little bit and he stared hard at her face: a low roaring noise erupted from behind her, but she didn't pay attention to how Jaken instantly glanced behind her with am expression of the rage filling her body, Rue turned toward her sleeping bag and stormed over to it. The second she pulled the zipper up and closed the bag around her the rage disappeared.

She was left feeling oddly weak.

"How did she do that?" Rin whispered, getting up and staring at the campfire with wide eyes.

It had stopped moving and become trapped in a specific moment in time while embers and soot hovered silently above it. However, despite the fact that the fire was no longer burning, enormous waves of heat still radiated off of it—keeping the little girl from trying to touch it with her hands. Sesshomaru stared intently at that same fire: when it slowly began to move again and abruptly erupted with a fifteen-foot pillar of flame nearly two minutes later, his eyes narrowed and he glanced at the back of Rue's long white hair.

_What is she…?_ he wondered silently.


	6. Chapter 5: Something Inside

**Chapter Five: Something Inside**

_She stared off into the darkness, blinking in confusion as she tried to see through the impenetrable shadows. She hovered weightlessly in this void of nothing, wondering how she had gotten there as an uneasy prickle traveled down her spine. Her golden eyes flashed around blindly as a deadly presence entered her awareness: someone or something was in here with her._

_"Where am I?" she wondered aloud._

_"You're here," a strange, but oddly familiar voice replied._

_"Where's here?" she quipped, rolling her eyes._

_"That doesn't matter," the voice laughed. "What matters is that I brought you here/ I'm slowly finding ways to connect to you, but it's much easier when you're asleep." _

_"Who… are you?" she inquired uneasily, feeling the danger radiating from somewhere in the darkness._

_"Again, not important," the voice retorted._

_"It's important to me!" she shouted, fear filling up her chest._

_"Stop that! Fear is a waste of time! You are not in any danger…" the voice snapped, before slyly adding, "yet…"_

_"What do you mean by that?" she squeaked, feeling even more afraid._

_"Only that you yourself shouldn't fear me," the voice laughed, seeming to get louder. "However, when I become free, those few people that you care about are the ones you should really be worried about." _

"—ue?"

_"Stop it!" she cried, clutching her head as agony engulfed her mind. "Get out of my head!"_

"Miss Rue, wake up!"

"Huh?!" Rue squeaked, tearing her eyes open and bolting upright. "What's going on?! What's happening?!"

"You were mumbling in your sleep, that's what's happening!" Rin laughed. "It's morning."

"Oh… well, I guess I'm up for the day." the girl murmured, glancing around at the lighted scenery. After Rue slowly climbed to her feet with a grimace—her body felt oddly sore—the two girls helped each other pack up and load the saddle onto Aun's back.

By the time they were ready to get going, Jaken and Sesshomaru had returned.

"There is a village near here, about a day's journey away," the demon stated quietly. "We leave now."

Thus, _that_ day started off just like all the others had: slow and uneventful. At first, Rue felt boredom creeping as she padded lazily behind Sesshomaru and Jaken in her uniform, but soon her world came thundering down with an electrical terror. Rin had danced off somewhere to pick flowers like usual, but suddenly she shrieked from somewhere in the trees. The very sound ripped through Rue's body like ice: her heart skipped three beats before she instinctively whirled around and sprinted off in the direction of the sound.

"Rin-chan! Rin-chan, where are you?!" Rue cried, ducking under a branch and dodging around a tree. Looking to her left, Rue was startled to see that she was keeping perfect pace with Sesshomaru—but a few moments later the two of them skidded to a halt at the edge of a clearing in the trees. Rue's golden eyes widened in horror when she saw an enormous ogre with armored skin and a thin mane of hair stretching down from its head, moving closer to where Rin was curled up at the foot of a tree.

"Help!" the little girl yipped, cowering down with both arms over her head. "Help me!"

"RIN!" Rue cried as a mixture of hysteria and rage laced through her voice. The small teenaged girl instantly leapt forward and bolted into the clearing, silver hair flying as darted toward the monster. "Get the hell away from my little sister, you nasty _freak!"_

Charging the demon head-on with an enraged scream, the tiny girl lowered her shoulder and tackled it like a quarterback; the beast was knocked on its side from the brunt of her momentum, but when it tried to get back up, Rue twisted her hands and flung them outward with a wild cry of rage: the ogre froze instantly, becoming trapped as the flow of time surrounding it stopped. Rue blinked in shock before glancing down at her hands, wondering how she'd done what she'd done; then she shuddered and darted over to Rin.

She had absolutely no idea what had just happened to her, but whatever it was had saved the little girl's life.

Sesshomaru warily eyed the frozen beast before pulling out his red hilted sword, baring the threatening blade at the frozen monster.

"Dragon Strike!" he called out calmly, arm flashing with a graceful sweep through the air. Lightning exploded from the sword and tore through the clearing, engulfing the giant monster and incinerating it instantly; the ogre's corpse slammed onto the ground.

"Rin, don't you ever scare me like that again!" Rue screamed at the little girl, frantically shaking her shoulders. "I won't be able to keep myself from breaking if I lose another person! Don't you ever, _ever_ scare me like that again! Ever! Never, ever, ever again!"

"I-I…" Rin whispered, staring up at the silver-haired girl with confused eyes. "I'm sorry, Onee-chan..."

"It's okay," Rue whispered back, pulling her into a shaky hug, "but promise me you'll be more careful... please…?"

"I promise I'll be more careful," Rin eagerly recited, looking into the girl's golden eyes. Sesshomaru was already heading over to the two of them with Jaken close behind—but once he close enough, the small imp began to snap at the two of them: Rin for causing Sesshomaru so much trouble, and Rue for putting herself in danger like a fool.

However, Rin's eyes suddenly shifted past her new sister's face and she gasped in horrified surprise.

"Miss Rue, look!" Rin screamed, pointing behind the girl as a monstrous shadow fell across them: immediately whirling around and springing to her feet with her arms held up defensively, Rue's jaw dropped at the sight that met her eyes: the dead ogre was getting back up, only now it was glowing with a familiar-looking electric blue light. It was the same light that had shown up with that mark…

"It is an illusion! Take no notice of it," Jaken called disinterestedly; However, when the ogre's tongue shot out of its mouth and wrapped around Rue's ankle, the girl let out a wavering shriek of horrified disgust and flailed her arms in terror. The albino became hysterical when the monster ripped her off the ground and threw her across the clearing, sending her extremely light frame flying.

"EYYAAAAH!" Rue screeched, kicking her legs as she flipped across the clearing. "Jaken, you idiot—an illusion isn't solid!"

However, whatever else she could have said was cut off the moment she smashed into a tree—crashing into it nearly twenty yards away from where she'd previously been standing. Her back took the brunt of the blow: for a moment, time seemed to slow as her body bent backwards, long hair flying back in a cloud of molten platinum and yellow eyes blank with pain. The albino girl heard _and_ felt something in her body snap as she slowly finished colliding with the wood. Then time resumed its normal speed and she slammed into the ground a split second later. Rue weakly struggled back to all fours, but she only managed to roll over before she passed out.

Letting out an incoherent croak, the small girl fainted, body going limp on the ground.

"Miss Rue! Onee-chan, get up! Get up!" Rin wailed, beginning to cry hysterically; when the ogre turned to look at her, however, the child snapped her jaw shut and huddled behind the demon lord. Jaken instantly readied his staff and glared at the monster while Sesshomaru lifted his sword again, getting ready to race at the monster with lethal intent.

"This creature is evil," Jaken muttered, twirling his staff a little.

"Onee… chan?" Rin suddenly whispered, voice trembling slightly as she stared at the copse of trees.

"My Lord, look!" Jaken gasped, pointing toward the spot. Sesshomaru instantly stopped his assault and glanced at the spot the imp was pointing to as an infuriated aura began to fill the clearing. The ogre turned as well, also sensing the unnaturally pure aura that had begun to form. Rue was slowly getting to her feet, but she wasn't moving like her usual, clumsy self.

Her body seemed to be moving fluidly, almost as though she were made of living water.

As she gracefully stood up to her full height, a shifting red haze suddenly engulfed her form, flowing around her skin as her silver hair billowed weightlessly around her body. Blue fire suddenly exploded out of her back, forming into a pair of burning angel's wings that spread out nearly twelve feet in both directions: a hot, roaring wind flew across the clearing.

"Disperse," a feminine voice, unknown to any of them, spoke through Rue's lips.

Looking up and revealing her rippling electric blue eyes, Rue swung her arms wide and arched her back as a birthmark made of blinding azure light traced itself out on her body—winding up her small hands, searing across her shoulders, twisting around her neck, and flashing into the center of her forehead, where a sun made of blinding luminescence appeared. As soon as the mark stopped moving, the girl brought her hands together with a thunderous clap: the very sound of it sent a deafening shockwave of blue fire and blinding white lightning ripping across the clearing, destroying everything in its path as it roared across the land.

Sesshomaru's eyes involuntarily widened at the display of power.

Moving quickly, he instantly grabbed Rin and Jaken before leaping out of harm's way.

The ogre let out a screech of pain as it's body dissolved into nothing, but the fire wasn't finished with it's course of destruction: it tore through hundreds of acres full of forests and marshes—and it only dissipated when it washed against the mountains lying nearly twenty miles away from Rue's outstretched hands. However, the second the flames disappeared, the birthmark faded, the glow surrounding her body vanished, the burning wings disintegrated, and Rue stumbled violently—holding her head with both of her small hands. Then she lost her balance and fell backwards with a wavering groan: her silver hair fanned out around her as she smashed into the ground and lay limply in the grass, eyes fluttering closed as a thin stream of blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth.

_"Is she okay, Lord Sesshomaru-maru-maru?" Rin asked, high-pitched voice pinched with dread._

_"Shut up, you foolish girl-irl-irl!" Jaken snapped at her. "Eh? My Lord-ord-ord? What is wrong with the Tenseiga?" _

_"Oh, no-no-no!" Rin cried helplessly. "Tenseiga won't work on her-her-her?" _

_"No-no-no…"_ Sesshomaru replied.

_Why are they so loud…?_ Rue wondered, feeling detached from her body. _The echoes are so annoying..._

_It's because they care about you,_ a familiar voice snickered.

_Not you again!_ Rue cried instantly.

_Hello to you, too,_ the voice replied sarcastically. _You're unconscious, so it's easy for me to talk to you._

_Get out of my head!_ Rue snapped, but she was mildly encouraged when the voice laughed and vanished at her request. Rue let a breath enter her lungs, but flinched and gasped slightly in pain when a flash of blazing heat seared up her side and a metallic taste filled her mouth. A warm heat trickled from the side of her mouth.

"Onee-chan?" Rin whispered into her ear. "Are you okay?"

"Jaken, go get her some water," Sesshomaru ordered.

"I'll get her some fish!" Rin instantly offered, following the Imp as he grunted in disagreement; things became silent again.

All Rue could hear was her own heavy breathing as she tried to wait out the pain that was tearing through her body. However, she couldn't keep it up because the pain was becoming worse. A sudden shriek of raw pain was wrenched from her mouth and she turned onto her side in agony as her body began to convulse. Deep inside her soul, she could feel a strange heat warming her: Rue grit her teeth, body going stiff as the pain began to wreak havoc inside her body. Soon, she began whimpering from the torture—and the worst part was the fact that the pain wasn't stopping. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse as the seconds ticked by. The heat inside of her grew stronger and seemed to push against the pain—but the inner battle only made it worse for her handle.

_I will not cry! I will not cry!_ Rue howled in her mind, letting out a screech as her body contorted. _I refuse to cry! If I let one tear fall, all those years I spent training myself to fight off emotion will shatter! I refuse to do it! I will not allow that! I'm stronger than this!_

"Onee-chan!" Rin mewled, voice breaking through her mind and piercing through the mayhem of her thoughts.

"Can't… in front of her! Won't!" Rue spat through her teeth, sucking in more air as her body arched involuntarily from the agony. The heat within her body suddenly became a blaze, winning against the pain and numbing it. Rue locked her jaw and grabbed onto the heat with nothing but her will, pushing against it and the pain in order to end the battle between the two.

They both fell against her mental assault and weakened before dissipating.

However, the memory of a single sentence Tsuruuki had whispered flashed back into her consciousness.

"_Piece of advice, Little Flower: it's easier to hurt you when you're not expecting it, so don't lower your guard at school,_" he'd sneered at her. "_Especially when you're around us... because from now on, we're gonna be you're worst nightmare._"

_Forget it!_ Rue roared at the voice inside her mind: she could almost feel something inside her mind smile as the pain disappeared. She gasped at the departure and her body relaxed in its spot on the ground; breathing heavily, Rue curled up on her uninjured side and kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut, panting as fits of violent trembling began coursing through her body in waves. Sweat covered her skin as she fought against the darkness that was threatening to take her, but she was barely aware of what was going on around her.

She still felt disconnected from her body, almost as though she were floating.

Feeling numb, Rue stared out dimly through her golden eyes: Rin and Jaken seemed to be talking, but no sound was coming out of their moving mouths. In fact, there was no sound at all except for her own heartbeat and labored breaths. Suddenly, she was being lifted into the air and the world began to fly past her face as it spun past. The landscape became an unseen blur just as she found her body for a split second—giving her enough time to glance up weakly. Soft fur was wrapped around the person carrying her…

**TXXXXXT**

Rue blinked for the one hundred and thirtieth time since her mind had woken up—and each time her eyelids flickered, she could feel a little more of herself slowly sinking back into her body. Each time she blinked made it that much easier to see, hear, and feel whatever was around her. Eventually, she was completely aware of what was going on around her body.

"Rue-chan?" a familiar voice asked; the girl turned her head looked at the speaker with dazed eyes.

"Kagome-san?" she murmured monotonously. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of you, silly!" Kagome giggled gently, flashing the girl a relieved smile while she replaced the cool cloth on her forehead and brushed a few strands of silver hair away from her face. "How are you feeling right now?"

"I… I don't know yet," Rue whined, slowly lifting a small hand and gently touching her right side; the muscles tingled under her light caress. Kagome slowly lifted up the sheets covering her body and took a look at her side.

"The wound isn't bad anymore, but when you were brought here, one of your ribs were sticking out of your body," Kagome hesitantly explained, giving her a look. "Oh, and it was infected for a while, too—but the medicine I gave you worked really well, so you should be healthy enough to walk in no time. All you need to do now is rest, so mark my words, that's what you're going to be doing."

"What are you doing here?" Rue asked again, voice sounding dry.

"Well, we came here only a little while after you did," Kagome sheepishly admitted. "We ran into Sesshomaru during our travels and he said that you'd been hurt before demanding that we do something about it, so I came here to check on you."

"How long have I been out of it?" Rue inquired emotionlessly.

"Well… I don't think you were really… _out,"_ Kagome chuckled nervously, shrugging a little. "You responded to us just fine when we asked you to move or sit up, small stuff like that. You ate and drank the way you would have if you hadn't been hurt at all, but you didn't talk and your eyes were staring out at nothing the whole time. You looked like you were awake, but not seeing anything. It was kind of scary… and it almost felt as though you were somewhere else the whole time you were here, if you get my drift."

"So… I'm okay?" Rue croaked quietly.

"Yep, but only to an extent," Kagome evenly chided, waggling a motherly figure with a stern expression. "Thus, as your temporary doctor and modern-day advisor, I don't recommend that you go looking for any more monsters to fight with anytime soon."

"Ditto," Rue laughed weakly.

"Alright! Let me go tell everyone outside that you're awake," Kagome chuckled, standing up and heading towards the exit. "They've all been worried sick about you—which, I should add, is sort of surprising since Inuyasha and Sango only met you a few days ago."

"Thanks," Rue mumbled, giving her a little wave.

"No problem," Kagome sighed; however, not even two seconds after going outside, Rue heard the girl scream, "Inuyasha, SIT!"

"AGH!" someone yelped as a loud thud rumbled through the ground. "Ouch! W-what'd you do that for?"

"Stop picking on Shippo and maybe you'll find out someday!" Kagome snapped; Rue instantly covered her mouth to muffle the fit of hysterical giggling that unexpectedly overtook her: she attempted to quiet the sound by poking the tip of her tongue out and squeezing her eyes shut, but a few snickers still escaped despite her valiant attempts at fighting them back. Thankfully, Rin and Jaken entered the room with Sesshomaru a few minutes after she'd stopped laughing, although he came in a lot slower than the others.

Rin instantly flopped down on the floor beside her and started to cry.

"Are you really okay now?" she whispered, resting her forehead on the albino girl's lap.

"I'm okay, I promise," Rue sighed, hard yellow eyes softening a bit as she stroked the little girl's long black hair. "You don't have to worry about me so much, Rin… I've dealt with worse pain than this and lived, so there's no need to cry."

"I thought you were going to die like my parents and brothers," Rin sobbed, bringing her hands up to her face and trying to wipe away the tears that were pouring down her cheeks. "It would have been my fault if you died! You only got hurt because of me—"

"Hey, Rin," Rue quietly interrupted, tilting the child's face up so she would look her in the eyes. "Do you want to be one of the first three people to ever witness one of my secret talents? I've never shown anyone before, not even my Oka-san."

"Secret talents?" Rin asked, sniffling. "What do you mean?"

"Well… do you want me to sing to you?" Rue explained gently, cracking a small smile. "I've never really used my voice like this in front of other people, but I think I can make an exception for my little sister and her family."

"Really?" Rin asked, tears coming to a halt as she stared at Rue with large eyes. "Would you really do that for me?"

"Of course, and to make it a special secret between the four of us—Jaken, Sesshomaru, you, and me—I'll sing a song that completely captures my feelings for you," Rue replied gently, feeling a wave of sadness and longing sweeping through her as she remembered the lullaby her mother used to sing. "I didn't write this song, but a very famous man from… my country did."

"Oh, wow," Rin replied softly, leaning her head on the silver-haired girl's lap as Sesshomaru and Jaken stared at her with suspicious expressions. Closing her eyes, Rue ran her hands through Rin's black hair and began to sing the lullaby her mother had sang whenever she'd had a nightmare—hitting the high-scaled notes better than a professional singer.

_"Come stop your crying, it'll be all right… just take my hand; hold it tight. _  
_I will protect you from all around you. I will be here; don't you cry…_  
_For one so small, you seem so strong. My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm._  
_This bond between us… can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry…_

_"'Cause you'll be in my heart…yes, you'll be in my heart._  
_From this day on, now and forever more._  
_"You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say… you'll be here in my heart…_

_"…always…"_

Rue continued to stroke the child's head as she sang, hitting the notes as the little girl slowly closed her eyes with a happy sigh. Jaken leaned back and stared at Rue as she sang, eyes wide in disbelieving amazement at how beautiful her voice was. Despite his stubborn nature, he couldn't deny that she had an amazing voice: when Rue belted out the next verse with a lilting vibrato, Sesshomaru's golden eyes locked on her face because he realized that she was putting passion into the lyrics. She was obviously feeling emotions that were somehow tied to the song's words: her expression of determined stubbornness clearly told him as much.

_"Why can't they understand the way we feel?_  
_They just don't trust… what they can't explain. _  
_I know we're different, but deep inside us…  
we're not that different at all._

_"You'll be in my heart… yes, you'll be in my heart._  
_From this day on, now and forever more…_

_"Don't listen to them, 'cause what do they know? _  
_We need each other, to have and to hold._  
_They'll see in time… this I know… _

_"When destiny calls you, you must be strong._  
_They may not believe you, but you've got to hold on._  
_They'll see in time… this I knoooow! _

_"We'll show them together!_

_"You'll be in my heart… yes, you'll be in my heart!_  
_From this day on, now and forever moooore!_  
_You'll be in my heart... always..._

_"Always."_

When Rue finally finished the lullaby and opened her eyes, she saw that both Rin and Jaken were fast asleep. She sighed and rolled her eyes with a slight smile before glancing at Sesshomaru: his eyes were closed and his breathing was even, but Rue could tell that he wasn't asleep because his eyelids twitched a little as she watched him.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru-sama," Rue murmured, knowing that he would hear her despite the act; his deep golden eyes opened instantly and locked on her face. "Thank you for carrying me here… I probably would've died if you hadn't."

He didn't answer her gratitude at first, just continued to stare into her eyes: gold to gold. Rue finally glanced away from him with a fierce blush; she couldn't stand looking into those handsome eyes… they were much too sharp and intense.

"You would've been fine. You're strong enough to survive even a potentially-fatal wound like that," he said simply, closing his eyes again and falling silent for good. Rue closed her own eyes with a solemn sigh.

"I'm not strong at all," she murmured sadly to herself, letting her head rest back against her pillow. "I haven't been strong since the day Tsuruuki betrayed my trust and crushed my strength… along with my heart."

Rue didn't notice it when Sesshomaru opened his eyes again.


	7. Chapter 6: Vampire

**Chapter Six: Vampire**

The next day, Rue tried to get up and walk around while Rin was in the room, effectively causing the child to make a big fuss.

"I'm fine really," Rue tried to soothe, but the little girl had already skipped out of the room.

The teenager shook her head with an exasperated sigh and slowly climbed to her feet, wincing a bit at the slight popping in her ribs. Once she was on her feet, she slowly made her way over to the door without bothering to put on her shoes. Supporting her weight on the wall with one hand, she raised her other arm to lift the reed flap but the action sent pain shooting up her side. Just as she squeaked and her right leg buckled beneath her weight, a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and caught her before she could fall.

When she glanced up, she was staring right into Sesshomaru's expressionless face.

"If you're well enough to walk," the demon stated sternly, "we'll be leaving."

"I'm fine," Rue stubbornly reassured through gritted teeth, nodding as she pulled away and clutched her side.

"No, you are not," Sesshomaru retorted mildly, dragging her back into the room. Rue struggled a bit in his grasp until he stopped pulling her, but—oddly enough—he didn't remove his arm. The lack of action confused her slightly, and something Inuyasha had said to her that morning came back to her. It had both confused and bothered her for several different reasons.

_'Sesshomaru hates humans, so I don't really understand why he keeps you and Rin around.'_

"I can walk by myself," Rue muttered the second the memory crossed her mind, instantly pulling out of his grip and limping back toward the door. As she approached the reed flap again, his hand unexpectedly stretched out above her head from behind and held it open for her. She blinked in surprise a second before she continued through gap, feeling unnerved.

Why was he trying to be polite towards her if he hated humans…?

Later on, when they started walking down the road once again, Rin towed Aun by the reigns and made Rue promise that she would use him to keep her balance just in case she started to fall. Sesshomaru and Jaken had already disappeared again by the time they'd begun walking—which, it should be said, didn't surprise Rue one bit. When Rin led her into the next town, they stopped to rest on top of a small bridge; Rue sat herself on the ledge of it to rest while Rin ran off to a nearby shop.

"Well, at least it's nice out today," the girl sighed quietly, tucking a stray strand of silver hair behind her ear as the bells from her hair ties chimed pleasantly; at her feet, Aun startled her a bit by grumbling in agreement. "Wait... can you understand me, Aun?"

When the dragon looked up at her with intelligent eyes and grunted the affirmative, she stiffened slightly in realization: she'd just found a perfect chatting partner because she could talk to the beast without fearing he wouldn't understand what she was saying... and since he couldn't repeat what she said, he was the most trustworthy person around. He stared at her with four intelligent yellow eyes.

"Well, then can I ask you something?" Rue asked, looking up at the sky with a solemn expression. "Aun... have you ever felt like you were completely alone even though there were lots of people hanging around you?"

The dragon grumbled questioningly and stared at her with confused eyes.

"I mean... have you ever felt like an outsider?" Rue whispered, smiling sadly at the clouds before she looked at her hands. "I feel that way all the time, you know... even right now. Nobody except the woman who took me in ever cared about what happened to me, but in the end... caring about me is what _killed_ her. Can you imagine what it's like to never be alone, yet always feel so lonely that it hurts inside? Every single day, I was surrounded by a sea of people who didn't want to understand me. I grew up thinking that I could only trust myself… and it turned out that I was right, because the one time I broke my own rule and decided to trust somebody else, he lured me into a trap… and it was a trap where he and his closest friends did lots of horrible things to me. I still have nightmares."

The dragon grunted in protest at her pain and lay back down, staring at her with solemn eyes as she laughed.

"I'm an idiot, Aun… I'm a stupid, moronic idiot," Rue chuckled bitterly, hands slowly squeezed her skirt to hide the fact that they'd begun to tremble a little. She stared at her lap with that same bitter smile as her worst memories assaulted her; Aun grumbled quietly and nudged her foot. Not even a second after she looked at him, an object fell into her lap: Rue glanced down at the package in surprise before glancing up at Sesshomaru, who was already dropping some things into the saddlebags tied onto Aun's back.

"Yours," the demon stated in a monotone.

"Um… thank you?" the girl murmured questioningly; his long silver hair hid his face from her view, so she shrugged and opened the gift: to her delight, inside the box was a kimono—only this one was an authentic medieval red-and-white Priestess Kimono. It was the same as the ones she sometimes saw back in her own time, but this one was authentic. "Yay! I have fresh clothes!"

"We'll stay one more night," Sesshomaru told her, "but tomorrow we leave."

As scheduled, they left in the morning—but not before Hana and her company did.

Rue hated saying goodbye to her friends, and even before she left she found herself already missing them. Around noon, Sesshomaru stopped at the river for a while and Rin helped Jaken catch some fish in their spare time. Wanting to help them with lunch, the albino girl silently headed off into the nearby forest to find some more wood for the fire. Despite the fact that this forest wasn't as thick as a lot the others had been, Rue refused to go too far because the trees around her were giving off a very weird feeling.

Every little sound had her jumping like a small child, and she soon became frustrated with her fear.

"Jeez, I need to calm down," Rue finally sighed, leaning against a tree to rest as she closed her eyes, attempting to calm her racing heart through deep breathing. However, all of the nearby birds suddenly stopped their chattering and a dark shadow unexpectedly passed across Rue's eyelids—blocking out the shafts of sunlight that were warming her face. The pale girl instantly opened her golden eyes and straightened up in surprise, pushing away from the tree. "Whoa! What in the world happened to the sun…?"

A thick fog was crawling slowly through the air around her, making it seem so dark that she couldn't see five feet in front of her face. This surprised her more than anything else, because she knew that the weather was much too hot and dry for fog... and plus, it hadn't even rained since she'd landed in the Feudal Era. Shrugging uneasily, Rue decided to let it go—reminding herself that she wasn't in the present anymore: she was back in the Feudal Era Japan, and weird things happened way more often than not in this time period.

So, shaking her head with a sigh, Rue hefted her bundle of sticks and began walking back toward their camp.

Where a petty dispute was currently taking place, ironically enough...

"My Lord, look!" Rin cried gleefully, proudly holding up her wriggling catch. "I caught a lot of fish! See? See?"

"My catch is much bigger!" Jaken argued, holding up his bunch too. "Look at how it wiggles, Sire!"

Sesshomaru glanced at them, but didn't acknowledge their success. Not fazed by his disinterest at all, Rin _and_ Jaken both busied themselves by placing the fish onto their roasting sticks and waiting for them to cook. Feeling slightly bored after a span of thirty seconds, Rin decided to play with Jaken and took his staff away with a sneak attack—and the imp chased her laughing form for a good ten minutes before getting it back. By the time they were both finished playing, the food was ready and they all sat down to eat.

"Huh?" Rin suddenly asked, confusion pinching her face. "Lord Sesshomaru, where's Miss Miharu? Has she not returned?"

"The pest is probably still looking for firewood," Jaken grumbled. "She's so slow that a snail could win a race against her."

"That's not nice," Rin scolded, looking up when a dark cloud rose from the forest. "Huh? Lord Sesshomaru, Master Jaken... Look..."

"Oh, my word!" Jaken instantly breathed, looking up and staring at the cloud with a wide-eyed expression fear. "That's such a dark aura that even the _sun_ cannot penetrate it! That level of evil is only created by the strongest monsters in the world, My Lord!"

"Oh, no!" Rin whispered in horror, clamping her hands to her mouth. "Really?! B-b-but Miss Miharu went that way, didn't she?!"

Sesshomaru's ears twitched and he suddenly stood up, staring at the darkness with furrowed brows.

However, within a span of three seconds, the demon lord's eyes widened a little... and then he was gone.

**TXXXXXT**

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" Rue shrieked for the fourth time, staggering as she ran through the black woods.

She glanced fearfully over her shoulder after leaping a fallen log, but didn't see the human-like creature that had attacked her only a few minutes earlier. However, the moment she faced forward again, the monster suddenly caught her arm from behind and jerked the silver-haired girl around to face him. Rue squealed in terror and struggled against the monster's hold when he pulled her against his bare chest, kicking at his legs when he wrapped his muscular arms around her middle in a bone-crushing grip.

Feeling her ribs popping from the pressure, Rue let out a shriek of pain and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I need more of your despair… more of your pain… more of your fear... more sorrow before I quench my thirst," the vampire hissed, blood-red eyes glowing in triumph as he laughed at her. "A little child like you should have known better than to come into my territory. Now you'll die _mine,_ and you can only blame yourself for it... I wonder what your parents would think about this?"

"No, don't!" Rue choked, squeezing her eyes shut in horror when his tongue slid up the side of her neck. "Ew! Stop it, please!"

"It's too late for me to stop," he laughed huskily, pressing her lower body against his groin. "I'm going to make you mine before I kill you... and I'm going to do so by indulging myself in every... way... _possible._ Are you ready to lose your virginity, pet?"

"No, stop it!" Rue whispered weakly through her teeth. "Don't do this, please!"

"Oh, I'm going to do this, and I'm going to enjoy every second… minute… and hour of it," the vampire purred, grinning sadistically before biting down on her shoulder. Rue flinched when fangs pierced her skin, but her muscles instantly went limp when his powers paralyzed her completely: abruptly, the vampire's strong arms turned into vines and began creeping over her body—sliding around each of her slender legs, slipping under her priestess kimono, and curling around her chest.

Rue felt tears stinging her eyes as she lay helpless in his grasp, frozen by his powers as he sucked the blood from her body. She trembled in his grasp, knowing that she was alone, had no way of screaming, and was too entrapped to fight back. All she could do was keep track of all the things the monster was doing to her body, and the torture of this fact made her want to scream. His lips were urgently sucking at her shoulder, now, drawing out the blood that was tainted with her fear and pain. After a moment, he let go of her shoulder and panted heavily as he stared at Rue's vacant golden eyes with a greedy expression.

His laugh was dark and seductive, which only sent another terrified shiver running through her.

"I promise you a painful death, but don't worry," the vampire grunted into her ear, breath unbearably cold as he panted heavily into her silver hair, "I'll try to make it as quick as possible when it finally comes. First I'm going to need more from you: for a child so young, you are rather full of pain and fear. I haven't tasted this much emotional agony in almost a hundred thousand years, my dear."

His breath began coming quicker as he dropped Rue's body to the ground and pinned her against it by straddling her stomach and wrapping a vine across her mouth. The girl let out a horrified whimper when another vine slithered up her leg.

_NOOOO! _Rue silently wailed, squeezing her eyes shut. _I DON'T WANNA GET RAPED BY A BLOOD-SUCKING TENTACLE MONSTER!_

_I'm sick of this fool…_ a voice growled inside Rue's head.

_You!_ the girl called mentally through the fog and darkness.

_I'm here, child,_ the voice sighed, sounding almost comforting.

_Please, help me!_ Rue whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut and letting out a screech when the vine tried to slide into her underwear. In answer, a strange warmth rose up from inside her soul and tore clean out of her body, throwing the vampire and his slimy vine arms away from her. The trance over her mind burned away and was instantly replaced by a powerful energy that fueled her body.

_Run, girl!_ the voice urged; Rue instantly stumbled to her feet and darted away into the fog with her hair flying. She had no idea where she was going, but she didn't care—she would keep running forever if it meant staying away from that rapist of a vampire. However, she soon realized that the fog was extremely deep; she felt as though she were running around in circles.

"Where is the river?! What happened to the sun?!" Rue cried hysterically, head snapping from right to left as she frantically looked for something familiar. "Is there even a way out of this nightmare?! Everything here looks the same to me! Where do I go?!"

"Run all you like, my pet, but nobody has ever escaped my dungeon of fear," the vampire's voice chuckled from the darkness, sending a wave of icy terror searing through Rue's body. "You'll either die running... or die as I _fornicate_ with you."

"Just go away and leave me alone, you nasty bloodsucker!" Rue angrily screeched, flicking her silver bangs out of her enormous eyes before she wrapped her shaking hands around her shoulders. "Go find someone else to hurt! I won't die being raped by a disgusting monster like you! I won't let it happen, ever, so just go away! Go away and find someone else to mess with!"

"I don't think so," he chuckled, and the girl shivered as the fog instantly deepened; two vines suddenly lashed out at the girl from out of the darkness, slicing open the right side of her face and slitting the side of her wrist.

"KYAAAHH!" Rue wailed, instantly clutching her bleeding cheek as she blindly whirled and ran in the direction away from the vines; before she could react, she slammed painfully into the vampire's hard body. "EEEK! N-no! No! Let go of me! Let go! I won't let you rape me like Tsuruuki and his friends did! I won't! I-I'll—I'll kill myself before you can try! Get off me! Get off, get off, get off!"

Rue spun around and tried to run away from the monster, but a strong hand snatched her bleeding wrist and clung tightly.

The albino girl let out a cry of pain and struggled against the vampire's grip, rapidly turning away from him and using her insignificant weight of ninety-three pounds to try and free herself. The hand didn't move for a moment, not even in an attempt to tighten on her blood-slick wrist: if anything, the vampire's grip actually seemed to loosen by nearly half as much. Rue's insides instantly turned to stone, and she slowly turned around looked up at who was holding her: hard golden eyes were staring down at her battered face.

Not crimson eyes full of lust.

"S-Sesshomaru-sama!" Rue squeaked, charging into his chest and clinging to him with shaking arms—the way a terrified child would cling to her father after waking up from a horrifying nightmare. Relief instantly began washing through her heart as she held onto his Kimono, feeling colder than icy water and more refreshing than anything she could ever remember.

"Ah, here you are," the vampire suddenly chuckled from behind.

Rue let out an involuntary squeal and clamped onto Sesshomaru's kimono before turning sideways, staring at the shadows with huge eyes. She watched with shaking shoulders as the vampire faded out of the darkness: his arms had returned to normal, but his eyes were still glowing. Rue flinched away from those horrible orbs and buried her face into the folds of Sesshomaru's kimono, not caring that the spike on the demon's armor was resting against the side of her neck: she was too frightened to care about that.

"I see that the human is your mate, demon," the vampire sighed sadly, gently clucking his tongue. "My, my, how pitiful... I guess I'll have to kill you first if I want to take her virginity away. I know she is a virgin, too… I can smell it on her."

"I have no need for petty emotions," Sesshomaru responded calmly, moving Rue behind him, "but now you will deal with me."

"Draw it and she dies," the vampire chuckled, giving the two of them a nasty smile that made the girl turn cold. "You see, I have placed a curse on her—and as long as it remains, I can harm her whether she's in my possession or not."

Sesshomaru's hand stopped moving towards his sword when the vampire lifted his hands snapped his fingers. Rue instantly let out an ear-splitting shriek and arched her back in agony as something inside her arm snapped. All across the small girl's body, skin immediately began ripping open in long, horrible gashes… as though someone was attacking her with an invisible knife. Blood was thrown from the girl's sudden wounds in arcs of red, and she let out a strangled shriek of pain. She dropped to the ground once it stopped, coughing violently and covering her mouth as the pain slowly faded. However, when the vampire threw his head back and laughed in triumph, the nightmare ended.

Sesshomaru turned into a blur, and the vampire's eyes widened when the demon's crushing grip locked around his throat.

"I'm tired of you," Sesshomaru stated coldly as his palm turned green. "You should have left when you had the chance."

The vampire started to scream in agony and struggled, unsuccessfully, to free himself from the burning grip. Within seconds, his screams were tinged with maniacal laughter as he writhed and burned in Sesshomaru's acid grip. Finally, the vampire stopped moving and his screaming laughter cut off. Rue stared at Sesshomaru in wide-eyed shock as the demon lord tossed the body to the side in disdain and casually shook pieces of burnt flesh off of his hand. Rue flinched when he suddenly turned around and knelt beside her, shaking slightly as he grabbed her arm and began examining the majority of her cuts.

"I-I'm fine, really… the cuts aren't deep, so they should heal in a few days. I'll be okay until then," Rue stammered; however, while she was babbling about being okay, Sesshomaru lowered his face close to her wrist: Rue abruptly cut herself off when she felt Sesshomaru's tongue sliding across her skin. At first, she wanted to jerk her arm away when memories of the demon's tongue on her neck flashed through her mind, but then a surge of intense pain made her yelp. "AHH! Ow! Stop that! Why does it hurt so much?!"

"It's healing at a rapid pace," he answered simply, "so stop moving."

Rue instantly noticed that his tone seemed lower than usual, but she flinched when he grabbed her arm again. The girl grit her teeth when he went onto the next gash on her upper arm: tis tongue moved quickly and skillfully, but all she could seem to focus on was the pain coursing through her: she tried to hold in her yips and squeaks of pain, but some of them unwillingly slipped through her teeth.

Without warning, Sesshomaru pulled her forward until she was pretty much on and his lap. The girl grabbed onto his shoulders to stop herself, but she didn't even have time to argue before his arm was around her back, pulling on the neck of her Priestess' kimono so that it fell away from her shoulders. Next, his tongue was slowly rolling over her throat, healing a deep gash just above her collarbone.

By that point, the stinging had tears filling her eyes—but she quickly wiped them away before they could affect her.

Sesshomaru grabbed her around the back of her neck as his tongue healed the cut above her eye and trailed across the deepest gash of all, the one across her cheek. His work was short, his hands were stern, and his hold was rough: all in all, he wasn't taking the time to be gentle with her. However, despite the fact that he didn't seem to be enjoying it, the close contact suddenly became too much.

His breath was too warm, too intense—and it was bringing back memories of what Tsuruuki had done to her.

Rue slowly pressed a hand against his chest and gently pushed herself away from him.

"That's enough... I'm fine, so you don't… I can't… just... not anymore…" her voice broke by the end of the sentence, and she couldn't force out anymore words; Rue closed her eyes as an extremely powerful urge to cry unexpectedly swept over her, contorting her normally expressionless face with the pain she was trying to keep locked up inside her heart. Sesshomaru didn't move for a second as her shoulders shook slightly, but she overcame the need to cry and opened her eyes when he lifted her up and set her on her feet.

The demon held her up by the arm until she was steady enough to stand on her own.

The fog around them had vanished completely, but they hardly noticed it.

"Rin is worried," Sesshomaru said simply, heading through the trees.

Rue stared at his retreating back in confusion for a long moment, but then she turned her eyes down to look at herself. Blood was crusted in her hair, on her hands, and on her face, but all of the cuts and gashes were nothing but thin pink lines, now—well on their way to healing completely. Rue stared at her healing injuries with soft golden eyes as she began to follow him.

As the two of them headed out of the forest, the sun returned to light their way—like a promise that all was not yet lost.


	8. Chapter 7: Confusion

**Chapter Seven: ****Confusion **  


Later that night, when everyone had called down about the Vampire attack and Rin had finally finished attending to Rue's scratches, the albino girl slowly sat up in her sleeping bag and stared at the ground. She wasn't able to sleep because her thoughts were racing too fast for her to rest: tucking a few strands of her shimmering silver hair behind her ear, Rue glanced around at all of the sleeping forms surround her.

Rin and Jaken were curled up against Aun's belly, and the dragon beast himself was breathing deeply and evenly as he slumbered with them. Her golden eyes finally landed on Sesshomaru, who was slightly hidden behind a tree only a short distance away. His eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling rhythmically. Rue didn't have to wonder whether he was asleep because she already knew he was. She had watched him up until now, just to be sure.

At first it hadn't seemed like he was breathing at all, but after a long hour—Rue had counted the seconds and minutes—those breaths had become visible and slow. She instantly glanced away from him and stared into the fire, drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. The flames danced and swirled around in a dance that seemed as old as time. The albino girl wished she could sink into that dance and disappear.

If that were possible, she probably wouldn't feel so… _confused._

Memories of how Sesshomaru had touched her still plagued her thoughts: they refused to leave her mind, or even fade into normal memories because of how sharp and concentrated the experiences had been. The memories frightened her a little bit, too, which only made her confusion even worse than it should have been. Closing her eyes, she tried to reach inside herself and find the voice that had somehow helped her escape.

_Come to talk to me, have you?_ the voice inquired.

_Yes,_ Rue silently confirmed, closing her eyes. _Thank you for helping me. You saved my life._

_That was nothing, Little Lady,_ the voice snorted in amusement. _Lower demons like that fool are easy to take care of, and anyway, you were the one doing all of the running. Still, if it was this easy for you to connect with me so soon, we must be closer to each other in personality than I originally thought. Pretty soon, we'll be able to talk to each other all the time._

_Why are you inside me?_ Rue quipped, knowing that the owner of the voice was a female. _Where did you come from?_

_Well, in all honesty, I'm not really sure how I came to be inside you,_ the voice replied after a long moment. _The last thing I remember doing is hiding from a group of lousy humans, and then, suddenly, I was engulfed in static-electricity. The next thing I remember is waking up inside your head._

_I trapped you, then!_ Rue mentally exclaimed, eyes popping open wide in shock. _You were the girl I saw when I was sucked into the sacred tree! I saw you from behind when I was being pulled through that weird void, but I passed right through you as if you hadn't been there! Why were you were hiding from humans?_

_You passed through the tree? Wow… I didn't even know that it was sacred,_ the voice murmured in amazement. _To answer your question, I took back a few jewel shards of mine that some humans stole from me while I was sleeping. When I swiped them from the village, they all came after me even though the shards were my property in the first place. Still, the mortals were armed and I didn't really know where to go, so I hid in the tree. I didn't want to kill any of them. _

_Wow…_ Rue murmured silently. _It's pretty impressive that you didn't hurt them after being brought up in a place like this._

_It wasn't a big deal, really,_ the voice said with obvious disinterest. _Truthfully, I just don't like killing other living creatures, especially since I know how it feels to lose someone. That's how morals work. Anyway, thanks for telling me about your trip here: it really clears things up. I guess now we should get acquainted, right? I'm Ria Primrose D'Harana._

_I'm Rue Rosemerry Thompson,_ Rue replied warmly. _It's nice to meet you, D'Harana-sama._

_No need for honorifics, kiddo: we're closer than other people,_ Ria scoffed, sounding thoroughly amused. _Rue, we'll have to help each other until we find a way to separate ourselves: I don't know how we're going to do that, but we have to._

_Wait, why would you try to help me?_ Rue asked in confusion. _I'm a human, and judging the way you talk, I'm going to assume that you're a demon?_

_Yes, but you're only half-right,_ Ria promptly corrected. _for one thing, I have a sneaky suspicion that if something happens to you, I'll be suffering as well... and anyway, you don't know how wrong you are if you think you're just another human girl. You're something much, much... different…_

_Huh? What are you talking about?_ Rue silently scoffed. _If I'm not a human, what am I?_

_I'm not allowed to tell you,_ Ria answered solemnly. _It's against Spiritual Law to tell orphans of your kind what they are unless they discover it themselves. If someone does tell them, that person's soul will be dragged out of their body and straight through the gates of hell the moment the words leave their mouth._

_Um, okay,_ Rue answered awkwardly, paling a little bit at the absolute sincerity of Ria's gentle words. _Don't want anybody going to hell, anytime soon._

_Don't speak of me to anyone. If someone finds out that you're harboring a demon inside you, they may think that you're possessed and kill you,_ Ria stated after a moment of silence. _Oh, and one other thing… since we're growing closer to each other, my powers could trigger your powers into action, despite the fact that you haven't exactly woken up just yet. For example, the other night when you froze time around the campfire after getting mad at the imp… that was my fault._

_I… froze time… around a fire?_ Rue wondered mentally, raising her eyebrows in shock. _How the hell did I manage to do that?! And when did it happen?!_

_I don't really know all of the specifics, _Ria stated calmly, sounding as though she were thinking a little. _I only remember waking up and feeling that you were angry, but then you said something about 'trying to be nice' and something flared up inside my personal subconscious. You need to understand that my abilities are controlled by my emotions, so be careful about letting your feelings get too strong. If you lose it like you did the other night, my abilities could trigger yours again—which could be disastrous for everyone, since you already control the elements of time, water, air, and earth._ _Anyway… I'm tired, and I want to rest my mind, so try to keep your thoughts quiet: I can see them too. Ya hear me?_

_Wait! I have more questions!_ Rue cried mentally, biting her lip. _Since you can't tell me what I am, could you at least tell me what kind of demon you are?!_

_I'm a Nine-tailed Fox,_ Ria laughed, voice echoing through the darkness inside the girl's mind. When her voice finally disappeared, Rue opened her eyes wide and stared at the stars in blatant confusion.

_What's a nine-tailed fox?_ she wondered silently. _Better yet, what am I if I'm not a human like I've always believed?_

Thoughts like that continued to plague her mind for the rest of the night.

When the sun finally rose, Rue sat up with a tired sigh—still wide awake: she'd gotten a total of maybe two hours of sleep.

After the talk she'd with mental comrade, she'd sat up thinking over their conversation until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. However, two things had become very clear to the albino girl: the first was that she wasn't a human like she'd believed all her life. However, after looking at her life in retrospect, that particular fact shouldn't have been such a huge shock to her: she'd been born with colorless white hair, unnaturally-pigmented yellow eyes, and her body had been unnaturally athletic from the very get-go. Despite her pathetic size.

The second was that Ria was some type of fox demon with nine tails who was trapped inside her body, and the woman couldn't get out by herself. Shaking her head, Rue finally got up and helped Rin pack up their camp. However, the little girl caught her vacant-eyed expression and giggled.

"Rue? You look… different this morning," she said with a small giggle. "Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Yeah, sure I did," Rue replied instantly, plastering a fake smile on her face.

"That's good," Rin mumbled, grabbing her left hand and checking the pink lines on her wrist. "You went through a rough day yesterday."

Once the little girl nodded in satisfaction and let go, Rue lifted up her right hand and looked at it with solemn eyes. The pink lines were barely even visible anymore, which meant that the only scars she had left were the two stab wounds on the inside of her forearm. She touched the puckered flesh with haunted eyes, remembering the night she had gotten them. Her eyes became vacant with pain as she absently ran her fingers over the scars.

Sesshomaru stepped beside her and threw the saddle over Aun's back while she was doing this, ignoring her like always... but she didn't even register his presence until his body stopped moving beside her own. The girl glanced up for a moment, forgetting to wipe the expression out of her eyes before looking up at him. However, he wasn't even looking at her face; his golden eyes were staring at the scars she'd been touching. When he lifted his arm and started to turn toward her, Rue flinched and involuntarily squeezed her eyes shut—still feeling skittish because of how the memory had affected her. He froze and stared at her as she stood there, shoulders trembling slightly before she timidly opened her golden eyes and glanced at him.

Without a word, he turned and walked away.

Rin followed his path with her eyes before glancing at Rue in curiosity.

"Move girl!" Jaken snapped, using his staff to push Rin along. The little girl laughed, snatching the imp's two-headed staff and running away with a squeal of delight. The imp let out a cry of protest and chased after her, running around in circles as the girl hid behind trees and continuously darted around. Rue watched them, and soon a small smile spread across her face.

_They get along so well,_ she thought to herself.

Jaken finally tripped and fell over with a yell, and Rin danced around him, laughing.

"I win, I win!" she sang, skipping in circles with a fit of giggles.

Getting annoyed with her victory dance, Jaken jumped to his feet and took off after her once again, and they continued the chase as their group traveled on. Later that morning, a storm raced over them without warning—and for the first time since she'd come here, Rue got to see rain in Feudal Japan. They waited under thick-leaved trees until the rain lessened a little, then they found big leaves to carry over their heads like umbrellas. Sesshomaru didn't bother searching, though, and he walked through it like it wasn't even touching him. Eventually, when he was totally soaked with water, Rue couldn't take it anymore and moved ahead to walk behind him—walking on the very tips of her toes and stretching her arms up to their limit so she could share her leaf-shelter with him. He turned his head a little to look in her direction, but then turned back.

"Do not bother," he said emotionlessly.

"It is too late," she retorted, mocking his emotionless tone with a stubborn smile. She was mildly surprised that his stare wasn't affecting her like it used to; now it only stirred a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sesshomaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that even though the girl was walking in an extremely uncomfortable-looking way, she was grinning playfully at the road ahead of her. With a small feeling of surprise, the demon suddenly realized that this was the first time he'd ever seen a smile reach her eyes: they almost seemed to sparkle from the inside out, like topaz gemstones catching the light of the sun. As they came over the hill, Rin halted beside Rue and stared at the scenery with round eyes.

Her quick halt had Jaken running into her from behind and falling over.

Below them, at the bottom of the hill, was the skeleton of a large demon. Rue's eyes widened in disgust and she covered her mouth in horror at the sight of the destruction: around it were the bodies of other, much smaller demons, but all of those remains were still… fleshy.

"Wow! Look at all the demons!" Rin said in amazement. Rue glanced at the child in shock, silently wondering how many corpses she saw in a day with Sesshomaru leading her around to not be disturbed by this massacre. Shaking her head, the girl turned back and discovered that Sesshomaru was gone and already walking down the hill towards the battle ground.

"Wait for me, my Lord!" Jaken cried, and Rin hastily followed after the two of them. Shaking her head again, Rue sighed and followed them too—only a bit slowly and a lot less eagerly than them. By the time she was approaching him, Sesshomaru was leaning down near one of the smaller demons. However, the girl froze in her tracks and jerked backwards with huge golden eyes when a terrible crunching noise split the air. Rue instantly lurched away from the source of the noise, but Rin suddenly grabbed her hand from behind and together the two of them turned away.

"Lord Sesshomaru needs a new arm," the little girl mumbled grimly.

"A new what?" Rue exclaimed, starting slightly as she glanced down at the girl in disbelief. Not taking her seriously, Rue spun back around in order to find out what the child had meant. The silver-haired girl blanched when she saw that Sesshomaru was holding the demon's limb onto what was left of his arm, and she paled even further when she realized it had been cut off and hadn't healed. Her golden eyes became wide when the new arm sewed itself onto Sesshomaru's flesh. He raised so easily that it looked as though it had been there forever, and it moved like any normal appendage.

The blue scaly skin was the complete opposite of his smooth pale skin, and hand had only three fingers and a single thumb—which was weird—but, despite the freakiness of the situation, Rue told herself to feel grateful that it wasn't a vine. The arm was just a tad bit bigger than his other arm, but you'd really have to look to catch the size difference. His kimono sleeve fell over it and he looked up, staring into her eyes.

No emotion resided in those golden eyes of his.

"Well… if you're better now, can we get going?" Rue inquired, glancing down at Rin. "The rain is soaking us to the bone."

"Don't rush my Lord, you little pest!" Jaken snapped, glaring at her with a haughty expression.

"Excuse me?" Rue retorted irritably, the recent event wiping itself clean from her mind as her disgust was replaced with annoyance. Stalking over to the little imp, she took the weird, two-headed staff away from Rin and whacked Jaken upside the head with it before handing it back to the little girl—who started laughing hysterically. Growling under her breath, Rue walked back towards the road, where Aun was waiting patiently. The rain slowly began to pick up again, and Rue lowered the leaf closer to her head to keep her hair as dry as possible. They continued down the road until Sesshomaru eventually led them down to a deep water hole with a small waterfall.

"Are we resting here, my Lord?" Jaken inquired, but his master didn't answer. Rin danced around the cavern in excitement while Rue collapsed on top of a nearby rock in exhaustion, sighing heavily as she shook out her clothes.

_I wonder how Ria is doing,_ she wondered silently to herself.  
_Just fine, thanks,_ the woman replied with a mental snort. _Although, I could do without all this rain. It makes my fur itch… or it would if I still had any._

_Good one,_ Rue replied, giggling under her breath.

"I want in on the joke!" Rin suddenly exclaimed from next to Rue, making the girl jump nearly a foot in the air. "Tell me, too!"

"Joke? What joke?! There's no joke!" Rue hastily protested, waving her hands in consternation. "I was just thinking of… a story."

"Ooh!" Rin cried, sitting down in front of Rue and looking up at her with wide brown eyes. "I like stories!"

"Wait…" Rue stated slowly, feeling a little confused, "you want me to tell it to you?"

"Yes, please!" Rin confirmed, nodding eagerly.

Rue immediately scratched her head, raking her mind as she wondered what she could tell the girl. She didn't know any stories off the top of her head, and childish ones like Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood seemed dull. However, that's when it hit her: her own life was interesting enough that she could tell it to Rin as a fairy tale. Clearing her throat, the silver-haired girl glanced down at the child with a smile.

"Well, okay—but this is actually a true story, so pay good attention," Rue instructed, pulling her hair over her shoulder and running her hands through it to get the water out while she turned to stare out at the rain. "Not too long ago, but very far away from here, there was a… little fox. She was much smaller and very different than all the other foxes, because her fur was snowy white instead of red, and her eyes were yellow instead of brown. Her differences caused her to be teased by all the other foxes, but even so she refused to cry. She liked to write while all the other foxes wanted to play, and she spent most of her time reading instead of goofing off. She was always by herself… always alone. Then, one day, something amazing and slightly happened to the little fox: a very handsome… er… wolf, accidentally crashed into her, and he became her friend because of it."

"Wow..." Rin sighed, rocking back and forth with a happy grin. "The little fox sounds cute! I wish I could have met her... what happened next?!"

"Well, after that, the shy fox spent a little bit of time with the wolf each day," Rue eagerly explained, making little gestures with her hands, "and soon she realized that she was coming to look forward to seeing him. Then, on one sunny day, the wolf sent a special invitation to the white fox, inviting her to go to a very big party with him. Excited by the fact that she was finally being accepted, the little white fox agreed and got dressed up in very pretty clothes for the first time in her entire life! When the wolf finally arrived, the fox was overjoyed with delight to find that he'd even picked a big bunch of flowers for her! She blissfully took his… er, paw, and made her way into the night. It was supposed to be a very happy evening with lots of dancing, laughter, and fun... but then, when they got to the party, there were a lot of mean wolves were waiting for her: it was a trap!

"Oh, no!" Rin wailed softly, leaning forward with childish suspense in her eyes. "What happened to her?! Did she get away?!"

"No," Rue sighed, shaking her head with a solemn expression. "Caught off guard, the little fox was helpless when they attacked her, but when she called for the wolf he only laughed at her and told her that he'd never loved her because nobody could ever love a freak. Even though she had been crushed by his words and had nobody there to help her, the little fox tried her hardest to fight back... but there were just too many wolves and they were all a lot bigger than her. Once they'd had their fun and had gone away, the little fox knew that the wolf had been ordered to kill her—but her heart was so broken that she didn't even care. She just waited for him to do it… but instead of killing her, he only wounded her leg with his teeth."

"Did she live...?" Rin whispered, biting her lip as tears filled her eyes. "It's so sad! Please tell me she lived, Miss Rue!"

"Fortunately, she did live," the albino girl soothed, smiling a little. "You see, the very next day, a little old… uh… owl found the white fox underneath the tree where she'd been left the previous night, gravely wounded and near death. The owl instantly flew for help and brought back many animals from the forest, who took the little fox to a safe place where they treated her wounds and helped her until she got better. However, there was a wound that not even the nicest animals couldn't fix: the little fox's heart. She wasn't able to trust anyone after what the wolf had done to her."

Rin sniffled and rubbed her eyes before looking up at the older girl with folded hands.

"Then, one day out of the blue, something amazing happened to the fox that she would never forget," Rue murmured, eyes becoming slightly faraway as she thought about what had happened to her. "Somehow, she… fell into a different world, an amazing place that could have only been dreamed up inside of a fairytale. She woke up to find herself surrounded by many scary… hunters… who wanted to capture her and sell her, so she ran away from them. Then she fell into a river and got beat up by the current and the rocks: she became scared because she couldn't swim against the raging river, and eventually she was knocked unconscious by all the rocks she was hitting. It couldn't get any worse for the fox—but then, when she woke up, she found herself in the presence of new beings. She quickly became friends with the little black kitten with big brown eyes, and, um…"

"What?" Rin asked, blinking when the Rue paused for a moment and glanced at Jaken, who was staring at the waterfall.

"Er, the wide-mouthed… frog, who'd saved her life," the silver-haired girl hesitantly continued. "They took care of her until she was better, but she was so intrigued when they told her stories of their other friend, a great mighty dog who reigned over many dog houses, that she decided to stay with them for a little longer. However, when she finally met the great dog… who she had always pictured to be strong, kind, and caring… she discovered that he was really a cold and stern person. His eyes were always intense and scary, his words always cut through everyone, and for some reason, his touch confused the fox. She didn't know whether or not it was wise to trust someone again, especially someone so… frightening. She had even seen that he was far stronger than any of the other dogs in the western town, but something kept her back. Try as she might, she fought to figure him out so she could see if she could trust him, but everyday it became harder than before. Still, the little white fox didn't want to give up on him… so she used the strength from her other new friends to stay strong enough to carry on."

With that, Rue smiled and closed her eyes, humming a little melody under her breath.

"Huh?" Rin asked, blinking a couple of times. "Why did you stop?"

"Because that's all I can tell you for now," Rue replied, opening her eyes again with a gentle grin.

"Aww, but why?" Rin whined, pouting immensely: Rue only laughed and shook her head. During the story, she hadn't noticed that Jaken had moved a lot closer, or even that Sesshomaru had seated himself so he was facing them with his eyes closed, but she knew that they had both been listening… whether they wanted to show it or not. The thought made her smile. "Will you tell me more of it tomorrow night?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," Rue promised, looking toward the entrance as the rain outside began coming to a slow stop.

When they finally emerged from the cavern, the world outside seemed to have come alive with new life: the grass was stretching out to the sky, frogs were bouncing around with newfound energy around the water hole, and birds were dancing and chittering together in the sky. The only things that really dampened the whole scene were the remaining dark clouds that still filled the sky, seeming to have no end in sight. By the end of the day, they had stopped to camp by the edge of a slow, very deep river. Jaken made the fire while Rin helped Rue unload Aun's saddle.

The dragon instantly lay down to rest with a grumble of contentment, and within seconds he was asleep—snoring softly.

When night finally fell, though, Rue grabbed a drying cloth and headed to the river. After setting her towel aside, the girl stripped off her clothes, took out her bell-ribbons, and waded into a shallow inlet about seven feet above the river, where a waterfall cascaded into it. Walking to the edge, Rue spread her arms and closed her eyes as the moon bathed her pallid skin in a soft, pale glow. Feeling completely free, the girl bent her legs and sprung herself outward into a swan dive, managing to flip her body twice before she hit the surface and slid deep into the gentle current.

The water was cold, but not to the point where it was uncomfortable.

After she swam back up to the water's surface and took a deep breath, the girl ducked her head under the water again to get her hair out of her eyes before sinking low into the current, melting into the water until it was up to her nose. Seeing the waterfall nearby, Rue took a deep breath and dove under the water—swimming over to the rapids beneath it and letting the waterfall pour over her head.

"Sometimes nature is wonderful," she breathed in contentment, shaking out her wet silver hair and grinning as she dunked her head under the waterfall again. Feeling relaxed, the girl closed her golden eyes and allowed her worries to wash away for the moment. Her body was sore and tight, and when she opened them again, her eyes drifted over the skin where dozens of gashes and cuts had once been. Rue shook her body and swam over to the shallows to grab the soap that Kagome had given her: the next half hour was spent scrubbing her body clean until she smelled of nothing but cinnamon and Vanilla Honeysuckle. The scent had her breathing deeply and smiling, because these body wash products were her favorite kind.

With a sigh, the small, silver-haired girl swam back over to the waterfall and let the natural shower wash out the shampoo and conditioner.

A twig suddenly snapped nearby and the girl instantly ducked below the water level, covering her chest as she hastily whirled around. Her golden eyes landed on him instantly, almost as if she'd known he'd been there all along: he was sitting quietly on the nearby rock, staring absentmindedly into the water where the stars above were reflected back at the sky.

"Um, hello?" she called in irritation. "Trying to take a bath here."

"Why didn't you finish your story?" he demanded, ignoring her subtle way of telling him to get lost.

"Huh?" Rue asked, staring at him as though he were crazy. "I have to wait for it to continue—but why do you even care in the first place?"

"You said," Sesshomaru began slowly, "that the fox is trying to understand the dog. Why does she want to?"

"Why do you want to know?" Rue shot back irritably, arms covering her chest as she glared at him: here she was, a naked girl trying to take a simple bath in a river—and a grown man was just sitting there and asking idiotic questions when he didn't even care about the answers in the first place!

"Your story vexes me because you leave several questions unanswered," he replied, picking up her towel and holding it out for her by stretching his hand out over the water. "Stories are not supposed to end that way."

Rue eyed his hand for a moment before slowly and cautiously wading over to where he stood, wondering whether or not he was trying to trick her. Using her long hair and right arm to cover her bare chest, Rue hesitantly reached out for the cover with he left. She took it quickly and held it above the water in an effort to keep it completely dry. Sesshomaru didn't even turn a little bit to give her some privacy. She waited for a moment to make sure he wasn't going to take the chance to look at her body, then hesitantly moved to get out. His voice had her jumping back into the water.

"Stories are supposed to have good or bad endings," the demon lord stated slowly. "Yours has no ending at all."

"If you promise to keep staring forward, I'll answer your question," Rue offered cautiously, staring at him with wary golden eyes.

He simply nodded, not moving. Rue waited again to see if he'd keep his promise, but when he didn't move the small girl quickly jumped out and wrapped the towel tightly around her body. She could see her clothes resting on the rock next to him, but there was no way she wanted to be near him while she was naked—not after all the recent events.

"Why does the dog confuse the fox?" he inquired, getting up and grabbing her clothes before handing them to her.

"First off, a story can't have an ending if there's no ending to it yet. I'm waiting for the ending to happen," Rue replied quietly, hesitantly taking her clothes and hugging them to her chest. "Second, the fox is confused… by the dog's actions, and how he really feels. His behavior doesn't seem to make sense: one minute he acts as though he doesn't like her, the next he acts like she isn't even there, and then he's doing odd little things like giving her beautiful gifts. She's also confused because she doesn't know whether she should trust him enough to put her heart on the line, because there's a very high risk that it'll get crushed the same way it had when she trusted the wolf. Now, is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"No," Sesshomaru replied.

"Goody!" Rue exclaimed in obvious relief. "Now, can I have some privacy while I get dressed?"

"Yes," he replied, starting to walk away; then he suddenly stopped and asked her one last question. "Rin says that you were in an accident that killed your siblings and birth parents... so, is that where the scars on your chest and forearm came from?"

"Y-you liar!" Rue squeaked, covering her chest as her face turn red. "You said you wouldn't look at me!"

"The deal was that I keep looking forward," he pointed out. "However, you said nothing about peripheral vision."

"That's not fair!" Rue shrieked at him when he walked off. "You're such a, such a… such a DOG!"

A few seconds later, heat ripped up her body and burned into her face as she blushed crimson.


	9. Chapter 8: The Wind Sorceress

**Chapter Eight: The Wind Sorceress**

Rue let out another angry exhale and straightened the chiming ribbons keeping her hair tied back into its loose-hanging braid: Rin had decided to style her hair that morning with the ribbons that Sesshomaru had given her. The albino girl's iridescent white hair was so long that the style had been easy for the child to pull off: all she'd had to do was tie the first ribbon just below her shoulder blades and braid it the rest of the way down.

Still, regardless of how her hair looked at the moment, Rue was irritated to the extreme: she put the pretty, beribboned sunhat that Kagome had given her on top of her head—completing the white dress and sandals she'd chosen to wear that day with an irritated huff. After the previous night, the girl hadn't decided to forgive him for peeping at her body and simply consented to glare golden daggers at his tall, broad-shouldered back—wishing all the while that the daggers from her eyes were real.

_Why does he try to confuse and frustrate me so much?_ she wondered silently, exhaling again as she walked. _It's like all the years of mocking and being abused by everyone were mosquito bites in comparison to his rabid dog bites—and he's only talking to me like a sane person, not hitting or insulting me! He hasn't used hurtful terms or struck me at all, not even once!_

"Would you shut up, child?" Jaken finally snapped, spinning around with an irritated expression when she grumbled and sighed again. However, his expression melted when, out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind ripped through the air and brought everyone to a halt, pulling at their clothes and hair. Rue grasped her hat and caught it just as it was ripped off her head before holding it in front of her body with delicate fingers. She closed her eyes and covered her face with one small hand when the gusting intensified to a never-ending gale, whipping her silver hair around wildly.

The girl's glistening locks reflected the sunlight like a mirror.

"My Lord, it's—!" Jaken began to cry, but the imp's voice was suddenly cut off when strong hands wrapped around Rue's waist and lifted her off the ground. The girl squeaked in alarm the second she reopened her eyes: she and Sesshomaru were just about to land on the ground, but when they did, the demon lord bent down and pushed her to the ground by her head.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" she protested—but Sesshomaru leaned close to her when she tried to climb to her feet. His lips hovered right beside her ear and his hair brushed over his shoulder, falling across her body like a blanket.

"Stay quiet," he stated bluntly, making her freeze; after giving her his instructions, he stood back up and took a few steps away from where she was sitting in a Shoujo Managa woe-is-me anime girl position—with her slender legs curled up and one arm supporting most of her weight while her other hand clutched at the front of her dress. It was a fitting look for her. The wind suddenly came to a halt, and a woman's voice entered Rue's ears.

"Well, if it isn't Sesshomaru; the great Dog Demon Lord of the western lands," the newcomer chuckled. "How's it going?"

"The wind sorceress!" Jaken exclaimed, then lifted his staff and suggested, "My Lord, shall I take care of her?"

Rue, after brushing a strand of her silver hair behind her ear, carefully shifted her position and cautiously glanced through the grass, round golden eyes flitting over to where the group of people were standing, about three yards away. Sesshomaru was standing in front of her, and Jaken was positioned not far off to his left. However, beyond them was a beautiful red-eyed woman with dark brown hair pulled high into a ponytail, with two white feathers were sticking out of the tie. The woman's purple and white kimono flowed down to her feet, and a closed fan was casually resting in her right hand. She was smiling warily at Sesshomaru, but other than that she was showing no hint of friendliness. Her body was more rigid than a pillar of stone, almost as though she expected them to attack at any minute: she stood there with wary eyes as she glared at Jaken and Aun.

It was only then Rue realized that she was keeping a fairly good distance from them.

"Shut up, foolish creature!" the woman snapped at Jaken. "This matter does not concern you."

"What on earth is going on…?" Rue whispered inaudibly as she glanced over at Aun, who was hissing quietly at the pretty woman, and Rin… who was sleeping peacefully on the dragon's back, completely unaware of what was going on.

"You must know why I'm here," the woman told him. "I want you to kill Naraku."

Rue jerked slightly, nearly gasping aloud in recognition.

_Where have I heard that name before?_ she wondered silently, biting her lip and she tried to remember. _It sounds so familiar… oh, that's right! Inuyasha said that name when I asked if they could take me home! But... who is Naraku, and why does everyone seem to want him dead?_

"If you want him dead, kill him yourself. In the meantime, which way leads to his castle?" Sesshomaru retorted, voice coming out much colder than usual. When a gentle breeze suddenly picked up and ruffled Rue's silver hair, the woman suddenly became stiff and flashed a rapid glare toward the grassy area where Rue was currently hiding. The girl instantly froze, golden eyes becoming huge as her breath caught.

"What the hell is that? The aura of an immortal?" the woman exclaimed, raising the hand holding the fan and opening it with a snap before whirling around in a circle and swinging it swiftly out in front of her. "Dance of the dragon!"

A roaring sound exploded into the air as multiple cyclones of bluish wind ripped straight at Rue. Leaping to her feet, the girl's golden eyes widened as a set of monstrous twisters roared toward her at an impossible speed. Her waist-length silver hair whipped around as she covered her face with a scream, squeezing her eyes shut as the roaring became a deafening howl. Sesshomaru was suddenly there, wrapping an arm around her slender waist and sweeping her off her feet before leaping out of the path of the unnatural twisters. Moving faster than human eyes could ever hope register, the two of them landed nearly half a mile away from their original spot, and the demon lord protectively pushed Rue's shaking body behind him.

"Oh, ho, ho!" the woman laughed scandalously, pulling one of the feathers from her hair and throwing it into the air. In a blast of wind, she disappeared from the ground and was suddenly flying off on a huge feather through the sky. "Naraku will be surprised to hear that a demon lord like yourself is harboring another human girl! Especially since she has a strange aura."

"I'm really sorry," Rue whined, holding her hat with limp hands. "I never seem to be able to do anything right."

"It was not you, child," Jaken argued dismissively. "It was the wind that gave your position away."

_Whoa, did I just hear him correctly?_ Rue wondered silently, glancing at the imp in disbelief and shock. _Did he really just choose to defend me instead of reprimand me, or did I hallucinate and imagine it?_

"We shall be in the village tonight," Sesshomaru stated.

**TXXXXXT**

Rue let out a sleepy yawn as the inn keeper led them to their rooms. Rin had a small room to herself, between Rue's and Sesshomaru's. Jaken was going to share a room with him, partly because he refused to be anywhere out of Sesshomaru's sight and partly since he was so small that he could fit anywhere. On the way inside her room, however, Rue spotted a walkway leading behind the inn and halted for a moment. Despite the fact that she was extremely tired, curiosity got the better of her and she tossed her hat into the room before closing her room door. After shaking her hair out and straightening her hair ribbon, the girl smoothed her dress and made her way back outside to check it out. To her profound amazement, the path led into a beautiful garden that held flowers of all kinds, with vines growing up the gates and stone walls that surrounded it.

In the center was a small fountain and a pool of crystalline water that looked as clear as the sky in the morning.

"Wow," Rue whispered in amazement, kneeling down beside the fountain and looking into the pool of water.

Two fish, one black and one white, were swimming around in a never-ending dance. However, they drifted closer to her fingers when she touched the surface of the pool with her hand. Ripples danced across the surface at her touch, and a faint, sparkling blue light slowly extended from her hand and into the water—flashing across the bottom of the fountain in shimmering rainbows.

The oasis had rendered the girl speechless.

In all honesty, Rue had only seen things like this in big cities—and those fountains' plants had been purposely planted around it in symmetrical neatness. The flowers in this garden were growing wildly, with no care in the world—but it had turned out so much more beautiful than the gardens back home. Their colors had mixed and blended in no particular pattern, hummingbirds and butterflies flew in and out of the garden at will, and none of the natural creatures and plants surrounding her had having to worry about disruptions from anyone. Feeling amazed, Rue stood up and made her way over to a large tree before sitting down on the grass underneath it. She smoothed her white dress flat before she lay down and gazed at the sky.

However, not even ten minutes after she'd lay down, Rin came skipping into the garden.

Rue almost laughed aloud when the little girl jerked to a halt, mouth dropping open as she gazed around with childish fascination.

"Wow!" Rin exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands before she continued on her way over to where Rue was lying.

"Yeah, I said the same thing," Rue giggled, turning her head slightly so she could smile up at the child.

"It's so pretty!" Rin cried, then pointed at a nearby bush. "Oh, wow—look at that butterfly!"

"Huh?" Rue followed her finger with her eyes and immediately spotted the insect. "Ooh, I like that one!"

"Me, too!" Rin agreed, sitting down next to the girl as a gentle wind swept the grass around them, ruffling their hair and pulling at their clothes as they sat together in silence. "Um… Miss Rue?"

"Yes?" Rue inquired gently, turning her head to look at the girl.

"Uh…" the small girl hesitated, biting her lip and staring at the ground. "Why are you mad at Lord Sesshomaru?"

"I'm not mad at him," Rue sighed, sitting up and glaring at her lap. "I'm actually mad at myself."

"But, you were acting all mad at him, though," Rin pointed out, looking thoroughly confused by the reply.

"Yeah, I was," Rue answered quietly, slowly drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.

"Why?" Rin asked bluntly.

"Rin-chan, listen to me for a second," the silver-haired girl finally murmured. "I'm not just mad, I'm also… terrified. I'm afraid that if I trust him—if I take the time to be his friend—he'll hurt me using my own feelings for him."

"Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't do that!" Rin protested instantly. "He would never hurt your feelings, Miss Rue!"

"I know that he would never do it intentionally, but he's too… confusing," Rue explained in a quiet voice, struggling to figure out how to put her heart into words that a child could understand. "I'm afraid of what he'd be able to do to me if he knew that I wanted to care about him, Rin-chan. I know that even you can see that most of the time he's very harsh and blunt when he interacts with people; he tries to make it seem as though he doesn't know anything about other people's feelings, and he tries to prove that he doesn't care by acting cruel and emotionless—even when I know that, deep down inside, he does. I understand what he's doing because I've been doing the same thing for three long years—and I still do it now, occasionally."

"Wow," Rin murmured, "you know a lot about what people are really like, Miss Rue."

"Not really, Nii-chan," the girl replied, lying back down on the grass and gazing at the sky once again. "I just happened to figure out the one thing about people in general that will never change: you could be wearing the perfect, expressionless mask to hide your emotions from everybody else, but that's all your face really becomes in the end—a mask. Just because you're wearing it to fool other people doesn't mean that the things beneath it ever really go away: the truth is always under there."

"One thing still doesn't make sense to me, though," Rin mumbled after a few seconds of blinking in awe. "If you were so mad at yourself, why were you being mean to Lord Sesshomaru?"

The wind ruffled Rue's moon washed silver hair as the stars twinkled in the night sky above, and she closed her golden eyes as a sigh escaped her lips. She was silent for several minutes, but Rin patiently waited for her answer.

"Because, I…" Rue finally whispered in a small voice. "I… I don't want him to know that I'm beginning to trust him."

"Well, your secret's safe with me," Rin sighed, patting the older girl's shoulder reassuringly. "I still don't believe that Lord Sesshomaru would do anything to hurt you, though. He may act mean sometimes, but he's really a very nice person."

Hidden behind the corner of the building, the demon lord turned away from the conversation and walked away.

Later that night, as Rue was coming back from the baths—dressed in the newly-cleaned priestess kimono—she stopped a few paces away from Sesshomaru's room and sighed. She knew for a fact that Rin and Jaken usually went to his room to talk about their plans whenever they stayed at local inns, so the girl was sure that they'd be in there by that point. The two of them wouldn't have skipped out on a meeting, even though Rin and Jaken didn't really help in the planning process. It usually ended up with Jaken agreeing with everything and Rin doing her own little thing and ignoring them.

_Maybe I should say goodnight to everyone before I go to sleep,_ she thought silently, absently running a hand through her damp white hair. _Knowing them, if I don't say goodnight like I usually do, they'll probably worry about me._

Rue sighed again before quietly heading to his door and knocking gently on the wood. She waited for a moment as she tied her hair into a simple ponytail with one of the chiming ribbons he'd given to her, but the small goirl frowned once she was finished tying it into a bow. No one had answered the door, but she could definitely hear someone shifting inside. Rue quietly knocked again, then waited for another few moments—thinking that maybe someone was coming to get the door. However, nobody came and she didn't even hear Rin's voice.

_Are they ignoring me?_ she wondered, but then shook her head and silently scoffed, _no way..._ _Rin wouldn't do tha, so... maybe I have the wrong room?_

Cocking her head to the side in confusion, Rue Nightingale hesitantly slid the door open and peeked inside.

However, the instant she did so, the girl's eyes snapped open wide in surprise.

Sesshomaru was sitting on the floor with no expression on his face, looking almost bored as a woman sat in his lap and ran her hands all over his chest. She brushed his kimono toward the edge of his shoulders and nuzzled her painted lips into his neck, whispering something with a giggle. The sight had the small girl feeling oddly confused at first, but then the woman looked up, straight into Rue's startled eyes.

"Who is this, My Lord? Is she a friend of yours from the mainland?" she asked him in a deep, throaty voice. Rue's round golden gaze shifted to look at the woman's exotic features—but when she spotted her pointed ears, her face went white.

The woman was a demon prostitute that Sesshomaru had hired.

"Hmm… you know, she's not very pretty for a mainland girl," the woman laughed seductively, covering her mouth and mockingly batting her eyelashes at the small girl who was standing shell-shocked in the doorway. That's when something inside Rue's chest cracked and she bolted down the hall, not even bothering to shut the door behind her as she whirled around and darted down the hall. She sprinted back to her own room, and after running inside the girl quickly shut her door and pressed her back against the wall—using the wood for support as her legs shook unsteadily. A dull, throbbing soon began to ache inside her chest and she slowly slid to the ground, staring at the opposite wall with vacant golden eyes.

Her heart started hammering painfully against her chest with a familiar aching sensation.

_Not as bad, not as bad, not as bad,_ she thought to herself, hugging herself as her slender shoulders started shaking with the familiar pain that was ravaging her heart. She instantly shut her eyes and locked her jaw, trying to fight back the tears that were welling up inside of her. _It's bad enough…_

"Why did I even bother trying so hard to figure him out when I knew that something like this was going to happen?" she whispered inaudibly as she held herself tighter, trying to keep herself from shattering into a million pieces. A knock suddenly reverberated through the wood Rue was leaning against, and she twitched before mewling, "whoever you are, please go away for right now. I'm not really in the mood to see anyone."

Ignoring the request, whoever was waiting there slid the door open; however, she refused to look at her visitor and instead continued to hold herself, leaning against the wall instead of the door as she stared across the room with shaking shoulders.

"It's rude to enter someone's room without permission," she whispered, covering her head. "Especially when they ask to be left alone!"

"You should take your own advice," Sesshomaru's voice replied, making her twitch slightly: she slowly lifted her head and looked at him.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Rue replied in a monotone, moving away from the wall as a tormented smile flashed across her face. Shaking her head, she started to remove the beautiful ribbon he'd given her, but the chiming tie suddenly slipped from her fingers when Sesshomaru pulled it out the rest of the way. When her hair slid out of its braid and slid against her back like a waterfall of white platinum, she froze like a statue.

"What the heck?!" Rue asked in a startled voice. "Sesshomaru-sama, w-what are you—?"

However, she cut herself off when she realized that he was suddenly standing behind her: his normal hand pulled down the back of her kimono and his lips brushed the back of her neck. Her breath hitched in her throat and she froze like a marble stature, yellow eyes widening in shock: her rigidness only gave him the perfect opportunity to slip his other arm around her waist and grip the front of her kimono. The demon arm he'd taken wrapped around her waist, sternly holding her against him while—with one gentle pull—the cloth slipped off from around her small shoulders.

"W-what are you doing…?" Rue whispered in a trembling voice. "D-don't, please…"

"Why are you trying to object?" he inquired. "You're always complaining about how my behavior confuses you."

"B-but," she protested weakly, feeling so frightened that her mouth felt like cotton, "Inuyasha… t-told me…"

"What?" he asked when she paused, breathing into her shaking shoulder.

"About demon males," she whispered as a violent shiver ripped through her body. "He told me that demons come to women, get what they want, and then they leave... he said that you only want to leave your mark and make sure you have an heir."

"That half-breed should learn his place," he replied evenly as he buried his face into the skin on her neck, pulling at her kimono once again. Her hand came up and grabbed a hold of it, trying to keep herself covered. She shivered violently and glanced at him with fearful yellow eyes just as he began kissing her shoulder again. However, as Sesshomaru trailed his lips up her neck and closer to her trembling jaw, his mind wandered back to a conversation he'd had with the half-breed in question: he didn't know why, but the words seemed to be stuck inside his head.

_"Sesshomaru, you should've been able to prevent this," Kagome snapped, placing her medical supplies back in her bag._

_"Why do you even have her with you, anyway?" Inuyasha demanded, coming to stand beside her._

_"I don't need to answer to a half-breed like you," Sesshomaru responded, sneering at his little brother._

_"You can't have any real feelings for that girl. You despise humans," Inuyasha pushed. "Let her come with us."_

_"If she wishes to leave with you, then that's her choice," Sesshomaru retorted, lifting his glare to the young man._

_"Is it?" Inuyasha dared, lifting an eyebrow as her narrowed his eyes. "Do you even let her make her own decisions?"_

_"What are you asking, Inuyasha?" Kagome finally asked, staring at the two of them in confusion._

_"I know how demons are," Inuyasha continued, ignoring the girl as he hammered his brother with the truth. "They do anything to claim areas of land, and they seduce young women in an effort to have kids who will take over the land."_

_"What?" Kagome snapped, glaring at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, cut it out and be serious: demons don't rape humans!"_

_"Yes, they do, Kagome," the white-haired youth retorted seriously, looking at the girl with a fierce expression. "It's true that they choose demons as their mates, but the bodies of female demons change so rapidly that it's hard to bear children. Humans can rarely have children by demons because the mothers die after becoming pregnant with the child: their bodies can't handle it. That's also why there are so few half-demons in the world. Goddesses are the likeliest choice for any demon male to have a child with... but the hatred between the two races is so strong that it rarely ever happens."_

_"What?!" Kagome shrieked, then she turned toward the demon lord and stated. "Sesshomaru, don't you dare—"_

_"The human has nothing I want," he snapped, cutting her off by walking away from them. _

Rue couldn't remember how he'd gotten her onto her back; all she knew was that, right then, she was surrounded by the fur scarf he was always carrying. Somehow he'd torn her kimono sleeve clean off, and now her entire right arm was exposed to the cold air. Both of her small hands were clamped onto the front of her kimono in a rapidly weakening attempt to keep her chest and the rest of her body covered.

"Se… S-Sesshomaru-sama… s-stop," she stammered fearfully, voice cracking as her heart palpitated. "Stop it, please…"

"Explain to me why I should," he replied coldly, voice sounding frighteningly heavy as his fingers tugged at the knot that held her kimono closed. His lips traced across her collar bone, around her neck, on the hollow behind her ear, and back down her shoulders as she trembled with horrible memories.

"B-because…" she whispered in a shaking voice.

"Why?" he asked bluntly.

"You… you're not like those… other demons... um, you have… more respect than… EEK! S-stop it," she whimpered, letting out a squeak of protest when he clawed at the knot a little faster. Instead of listening, he pulled her slender leg up around his hip and began ripping off the yellow and blue wrap that gad been tied around his waist.

"S-Sesshomaru! DON'T!" Rue finally wailed; the demon jolted to a stop and lowered his golden gaze to her face. Rue's round yellow eyes were wide and terrified, her pupils were dilated, and she was whiter than a sheet as she stared up at him with trembling shoulders. Somehow, the girl's expression reminded him of a small animal who'd just found herself caught in a trap. However, when two tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes, something unfamiliar stirred inside him—something that he'd never felt before during the entire course of his life.

Guilt.

Lifting himself away from her, Sesshomaru rose to his feet and left the room as though nothing had happened. Trembling violently, Rue sat up and warily followed his path with her eyes. When the emptiness finally hit her, the girl began trembling all over... and her slowly-healing heart once again began to break away into nothingness for the second time in her life. The girl slowly crawled over to the wall and rested against it, clutching her shredded Kimono closed and shivering a little from the chilliness of the room. The albino merely sat against the wall with a vacant expression.

It felt like hours were passing as she stared off into space.

Rue couldn't remember ever falling asleep, but somehow, Rue found herself opening her eyes and staring up at the ceiling. She could hear birds chirping happily outside, but none of their happiness touched her the way it usually did. She didn't want to move anymore because the emptiness that had been festering inside her was overwhelming. She probably would've cried like a baby all night if she'd let herself show any emotion, but all of that pain was gone: nothing remained except for the hollow emptiness deep inside her heart... an emptiness in the spot that her trust used to be.

She felt like nothing but a shadow of her usual self.

_I want to disappear…_ she thought silently, closing her eyes again and curling up into a ball on the floor. _I want to go back home to the present..._

_Don't you dare start that!_ Ria suddenly snapped. _Don't let that demon jerk get to you, got it? You don't have to deal with the pain he's causing you! You're free here, d____on't you get it?! _You don't need to stick around just because he's the only person you know! You don't owe him anything, so stop this!  


_What else can I do?_ Rue asked the woman hopelessly. _If you have an idea, then tell me—because I'm lost._

_Weren't you heading for the village with that tree so you could return home?_ Ria firmly inquired. _Well... I can lead you there._

_You can?_ Rue quipped silently, slowly opening her eyes again. _How long will it take us to get there?_

_Just find something you can ride or else it'll take us forever—literally,_ Ria snorted. _You can't exactly run very fast yet._

Rue instantly sat up and was just about to get to her feet when she stopped: there, on the floor right next to her, was a new kimono.

Her surprise instantly turned to a bitter anger and she stormed past the outfit, opening her pack and snatching one of the spare school uniforms that Kagome had rescued from her house. She quickly changed into the clothes and tied her hair into a ponytail, knowing all the while that there was no way that he could buy her forgiveness. Once she was dressed, Rue clasped her mother's necklace around her neck and slowly slid open her door, glancing down both of the silent hallways before hefting her pack, darting down the left one, and speeding outside.

Once she was our in the street, the girl glanced around the quiet town, looking for any sounds of life.

A thin fog clung to the grass while a few chickens pecked at the ground—but other than that, there were no people stirring from their houses yet. She headed down the road and left the inn behind her—but after sneaking halfway through the sleepy town, she spotted a few horses grazing in a pasture at the edge of the village and hurriedly opened the gate.

"This big guy will do," Rue murmured, walking up to a big roan stallion. "I hope the owners won't mind me borrowing him…"

After gently touching his flank to let him know she was there, she threw a blanket across the horse's back and used the gate to climb on. Then, shaking her head, the girl used the rope bridle to lead the young stallion out of the stall and headed out into the morning on his back. In truth, Rue wasn't used to riding a horse with nothing but a rope around its muzzle for reins, but then again it was better than nothing at all. Feeling hallow, Rue Rosemerry Thompson glanced back at the sleeping town only one last time before kicking the horse into a gallop and disappearing into the fog.

**TXXXXXT**

"Where could she have gone?!" Rin cried, bursting into tears. "Why'd she leave us if she promised she'd always be here?"

"Shut up, child!" Jaken snapped at her. "Lord Sesshomaru needs to think and he can't do that with all your whining!"

However, he let out a yelp when someone sent an unusually violent blow straight into his head with his own staff, knocking him into the air before he hit the ground five feet away. Sesshomaru dropped the staff a moment later, staring off into the foggy morning. Her scent was still there, but it was faint—nearly five hours old. He'd followed it out to this very stable the moment Rin had burst into his room, screaming that Rue was gone. Something wasn't right, though… he could smell that she'd taken a horse, but she hadn't taken any of her Kimonos with her: she had left them all behind.

When he thought back on the events of the previous evening, his eyes narrowed and his lips tightened a little.

Because of his actions... Rue had run away.


	10. Chapter 9: Runaway

**Chapter Nine: The Runaway**

"Hey, how far away is this town, anyway?" Rue finally asked. "It feels like we've traveling for hours."

_Relax!_ Ria sighed in exasperation. _It shouldn't be too long—and anyway, we've only been going for forty minutes!_

"Oh, good," Rue stated, kicking the horse back into a trot. After she'd left the village, the girl had thought they would reach the town Kagome had told her about in no time at all—but she'd been feeling disappointed to find that they were still trudging down the long, dirty, barren road. They hadn't passed anyone all morning, and the loneliness was starting to drive her crazy. However, as the horse crested the top of a hill, Rue pulled on the reigns to stop the horse. "Hey, is that it?"

_Yeah, that's it,_ Ria replied with a snort. Rue grinned and urged the horse forward again, following the river that was flowing beside her as her steed trotted down the hill toward a village that was almost completely surrounded by trees. Fields of vegetation and pastures full of smaller animals lined the outskirts where the trees were absent.

"Hey, do you think that Kagome is there?" Rue asked hopefully.

Ria—deep inside her mind—shrugged; it had been getting easier to feel the woman's presence ever since the moment that Rue had first spoken to her, and the realization that she had a friend brought a smile to her face. They headed down the hill, following the river a ways before Ria told her to cut across some tall grassy plains and head toward the town. However, about fifty yards out in the field, all hell broke loose.

"Look out!" A male voice screamed.

"Huh?" Rue called in surprise, turning to see who had called out to her—and that's when a long serpent-like demon tore out of the long grass and leapt straight at her.

_Watch out, Rue!_ Ria screamed instantly.

"EEEK! No!" Rue shrieked, thrusting out her hands in an attempt to keep the beast from latching onto her throat. A ball of searing white fire unexpectedly ignited into the air and went sailing away from her palm, leaving a blazing trail as it hurtled toward the demon and smashed directly into its face. However, the silver-haired teenager lost her balance and tumbled off the horse's back when it reared, landing hard on her back and staring upside down after her mount when raced off in fright. She sat up and clutched her chest in terror when the demon shook off the scorching cinders.

"You shall pay for that, human!" it hissed, slowly slithering toward her with a wicked gleam in its red eyes.

"Eeek! Get away!" Rue cried frantically, clumsily staggering to her feet before sprinting in the opposite direction.

_You have to face it!_ Ria shouted. _I can help you trigger your powers by using mine if you trust me!_

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Rue squeaked breathlessly, still running for her life. "You told me that the results would be bad for everyone if I used my powers, didn't you?! And how the hell did those flames come out of my hand?!"

_For some reason you have control over my fire as well,_ Ria hastily explained. _However, I can maintain a semblance of control when you use it!_

"Oh, that's comforting!" Rue scoffed; whatever else she could have said cut off when the snake demon snapped its tail around her body and stabbed her through the stomach. Feeling absolutely nothing when the appendage violently spun her around with a wrenching jerk, Rue twirled dizzyingly as she fell—hitting the ground hard and slammed face-first into the dirt as blood began to stain the front of her blazer. However, she instantly rolled over and lifted both of her hands into the air, aiming them toward the approaching demon. Her lips trembled and she looked frightened, but also angry.

"Get the hell away from me, or I'll turn you into a pile of ash!" she cried angrily; the words sounded weak and pathetic leaving her mouth, but the determination burning in her golden eyes would have told anyone with an observant personality that she was serious and warned them away.

"Strong words for such a lousy human girl! Although I agree that your control over the elements is shocking, there is no way you are strong enough to kill me!" the demon snarled; then his tail shifted, and before she could react, the monster had wrapped it around her arms and lifted her into the air. The coil nearly crushed the bones in her forearm, but she held in her cry of pain. "Ah… for a mortal, you hold an unbelievable amount of beauty… especially for a mere human girl. You'd be the perfect host for my children's bodies."

"E-excuse me?" Rue whimpered.

"Yes, this shell will do just fine. My children cannot be born as dirty half-breeds: once a host is seeded, my children will grow until they will rip themselves out of the shell protecting them. Your dead corpse will be their first meal." The snake demon laughed, beady red eyes thoughtfully boring into Rue's golden ones as his tongue lipped out of his mouth and slithered across her cheek, slowly traveling down her neck.

"There is no way in _hell!"_ Rue screeched, eyes rippling in color and becoming a glittering electric blue from the pupil out as a surge of rage exploded to life inside her. Ria was completely outraged, and Rue;s lips drew back into a feral snarl as the demon's unearthly fury blazed throughout her small body: letting out a shriek of fury, the frail albino brought her dangling legs up and sent an impossibly flexible kick into the snake demon's jaw.

"Fire!" nearly a dozen male voices cried, and a sudden hailstorm of arrows began to rain down on the demon. The snake hissed in pain and dropped Rue to the ground, turning away from the girl to face its new target with an enraged hiss.

"You maggots will not deny me my pleasure!" he snarled. "I will have my children by this wench!"

"Not gonna happen!" Rue snapped, lifting her arms as a blue light began to trace itself out across her body for the third time in her life: true to her word, Ria was triggering her abilities and an explosion of power soon slammed into the world. Letting Ria's instincts take over her body, Rue lifted her small hands and pulled water from the air with nothing but a thought after she landed—withdrawing a spray of swirling moisture that condensed into thick drops of liquid. She gracefully twisted her slender arms above her head as the streams spiraled around her body in a whirling cyclone, spinning around her until the droplets were sucked into growing pillars above her wrists. A surge of icy energy froze them to her body, physically attaching the liquid to her skin. Rue twisted like a dancer before coming to a graceful halt, holding her left hand stretched out and her right arm drawn.

Two razor-bladed swords made of shimmering ice were connected to her the back of wrists.

Shining strands of her silver hair twisted in the wind as the girl's sparkling blue eyes burned into the demon's face. When the monster roared at her, she positioned her body into a martial arts fighting stance and her eyes darted across the its chest, neck, and head. In that awful moment of suspended time, some clockwork part of the small girl's brain clicked. The demon snarled in fury and lunged at her, but the small girl whirled under the blow and sent the monstrous creature staggering backward with a fierce roundhouse kick to the gut—an incredibly powerful blow that was empowered by her temporary inhuman strength and enhanced senses. Immediately afterward, the silver-haired girl jumped as high as she could—which was now incredibly high—and slammed her fist into the monster's throat, burying the shimmering blade into his body.

The giant shard of ice entered the snake demon's neck and stopped just at the edge of her wrist.

As the creature let out a snarling gurgle of agony, Rue brought her other hand up and slammed the other frozen sword into its throat in an adrenaline-fueled fury—using all of her weight to cause him the most pain and damage. The demon stared at her with a hazed, agonized expression of pain on its contorted face before it reached up to touch the two blades of ice that now protruded through his neck, skewering him. The moment after Rue pulled her wrists free and leapt back on the ground, she twisted her body like a ballet star and spun around with her arms held out, twirling gracefully as blinding white fire—the hottest of all flames—roared to life above her palms. She spun with the flames following her movements for a long moment, letting them gather in strength before she sent them flying at the beast with a cry of fury—instantly engulfing its dying form with blinding white fire.

When the flames winked out, nothing was left of the beast except for ashes and a burnt skeleton.

"Promise made, promise kept," Rue whispered, clutching the stab-wound in her stomach and putting pressure on it to slow the blood that was staining her clothing. As she let the power in her veins fade and her eye color returned to normal, a sudden cloud of shimmering blue sparkles, made up of nothing but burning pinpoints of light, surrounded her upper torso without her knowledge. Rapidly swirling around her, the sparkles outlined two, extremely long appendages that slowly began to form into solid-looking bone protrusions that extended out of her back through her clothes—and by the second, the sparkles developed into the shimmering shapes of an angel's wings. However, the cloud of sparkling light disappeared in a swirling shower of burning embers only a few seconds later, and the girl had no idea that the wings had even been there in the first place.

_That's my girl,_ Ria murmured before falling silent.

"Miss! Are you okay?!" a man suddenly cried, sliding down the hill as he ran toward her. "We saw everything!"

"Yeah, and wow—it was amazing!" another man called.

"How did you do that?!" a third shouted—and seemingly all at once, a group of about fifteen to sixteen men surrounded the girl and bombarded her with questions. Rue clutched her bleeding stomach as their sentences slowly turned into a deafening, incomprehensible hum of noise.

"Enough!" an elderly voice called hoarsely, breaking through the noise. "Let the poor girl breathe!"

"Lady Kaede!" a man exclaimed, and the group slowly moved out of the way. Rue glanced up and stared with weak golden eyes as an elderly woman walked up to her, a longbow in her hand and a quiver of arrows slung across her back. She stopped directly in front of Rue and stared down at her intently for a long moment. Feeling a little awkward under the woman's penetrating glare, the girl glanced over at the demon's smoking corpse so she wouldn't have to look into her eyes—but then she remembered something and blinked up at the woman in hopeful surprise.

_'If you get to the village before us, stay with Lady Kaede,' Kagome had told her. 'Tell her you know us and that we sent you there. We should be back soon if we can't get any more leads on Naraku.'_

"Excuse me, but, um," Rue nervously murmured, shifting her weight again, "a-are you Lady Kaede?"

"Aye, child," the woman replied, expression changing from suspicion to surprise. "How do ye know me?"

"Um… Kagome Higurashi and her friends sent me here to wait for them," Rue replied, shifting her weight and looking at the ground. "She told me to stay with you until they returned so she could help me get home. I'm from… Kagome's country, and I'm trying to find a way to get home."

"Ah! So ye know of Kagome and Inuyasha! Well, then I guess we have no reason to fear ye," Kaede exclaimed, taking Rue by the hand not clutching her stomach and leading her into the village while the men and villagers followed them. "Upon seeing the sight of ye control over water and fire, we feared ye were a demon in the guise of a girl. I should have realized it sooner since ye clothes are nearly identical to Kagome's."

"So, you know them too?" Rue inquired in a shrill voice: she was frightened by the way the woman had said 'Demon in disguise.'

"Yes, Kagome came here from another time—but she harbors very special powers that only a Priestess can wield," Kaede explained, leading her into a private hut with a shuffling gate. "We found out a few months ago that she is truly the reincarnation of my elder sister, Kikyo-sama."

"Kagome-san is a reincarnated Priestess?" Rue inquired, suddenly feeling both curious and light headed. Wincing a little, the girl carefully pulled off her dress shoes and stepped up onto the wood floor around the fireplace. "Wait, who's Kikyo-sama?"

"Kikyo was my sister until fifty years ago, when she died. She lost her life in a battle with Inuyasha, who she bound to a tree with a sacred arrow. According to Kagome, they search for a demon named Naraku, the one who pitted the two of them against each other in an attempt to kill them. Inuyasha and Kikyo believed the other betrayed them, not knowing that Naraku had really caused their pain. As a Priestess, my sister used her powers to protect the villagers, herself, and the sacred jewel."

"Oh! I heard about the sacred jewel!" Rue started to exclaim, but a force hit her square in the stomach and Ria's voice once again told her to shut her mouth. "Um… I think Kagome mentioned something about it before, the last time I saw them."

"You must be hungry, child, and that wound doesn't look very good at all." Kaede noted, eyeing her bloodstained blazer with a wry expression on her elderly face. "Why don't I summon our best healer and make us some lunch while you get patched up? Then ye can get yourself some rest."

"Thank you… I need that, because it's really starting to hurt now…" Rue replied, grimacing and clutching her bleeding stomach as pain ripped through it. Kaede nodded and left the room for a moment, but soon she came back with a stooped old woman wearing a blue kimono and a head cloth.

"This woman's name is Mei, child. She is the gentlest healer in our village," Kaede informed the girl, then turned to the woman and said, "Mei, you are to care for this girl as if she were my daughter. I'll leave her in your care while I make lunch."

The old woman nodded and helped Rue to her feet before leading her over to a bench that was built into the wall, next to a wood-burning stove. Kaede kept a wary eye on the silver-haired girl, even as she started their lunch and began cooking. When Mei began undressing Rue and stripped her down to her underwear, the girl kept her golden eyes averted while the woman inspected the injury in her stomach.

Soon, however, Mei went over to Kaede and whispered something that she couldn't hear.

When she came shuffling back, she was holding a piece of leather.

"Put this between your teeth and make teeth marks for me," Mei murmured, gently patting her shoulder. "Otherwise, you could bite your tongue off while I'm stitching up your stomach."

"Stitches?" Rue squeaked, paling drastically. "I need stitches for my stomach?"

"Yes, the wound must be stitched closed," Mei replied gently. "Now, bite this leather and make teeth marks in it."

Rue hesitantly let the woman slide the leather between her teeth, and bit down hard. She watched with round eyes as the woman pulled out a needled and some sort of thread, but when the needle began to descend toward her belly she closed her eyes with a whimper. She had a feeling that this wasn't going to be pleasant at all.

And she was right.

When the woman was finished, Mei gently wiped the sweat away from Rue's abnormally pallid face with a cold, wet cloth that seemed to do wonders for the girl's clammy skin. However, the teenager was so dizzy and nauseated that she couldn't even sit up by herself, let alone eat; because of that, Mei kept her lying down while she applied a brown paste to Rue's stomach and wrapped a clean bandage around her injured torso. With injury seen to, Mei bid the girl farewell and left her lying on a straw mattress next to Lady Kaede—who was currently in the process of making their lunch.

"Ye should sleep for a while," the elderly woman said gently, glancing at the pallid girl with hard brown eyes. "I will wake ye when the food is ready."

"Lady Kaede…?" Rue peeped weakly, putting a small hand on the old woman's arm. "Thank you…"

"Ye welcome," the woman replied, blinking a bit in surprise upon hearing the small girl's gratitude. However, when Rue let go and closed her big golden eyes, her stony gaze finally softened and she sighed, "Sleep well, now. I will watch over ye."

**TXXXXXT**

"Mmn," Rue murmured, slowly waking up to the feeling of her hair being brushed. When she opened her eyes, the girl saw Kagome a smiling down at her. "Huh…? Kagome-san?"

"Hey, sleepyhead," Kagome chuckled. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, just a little worn out from getting my tummy stitched up," Rue answered, slowly sitting up with a squeaky yawn before staring at the girl with sleepy yellow eyes. "It's good to see you again, though… when did you get here?"

"About an hour ago," Kagome replied, handing the girl a bottle of water before she continued brushing her hair. "Kaede said you were here and that you'd gotten hurt on your way into the village, but I only just got the chance to come see how you were doing a few minutes ago."

Rue straightened up with a huge grin because it was the first thing she'd seen from her world in nearly two weeks.

Eagerly unscrewing the cap, the tiny girl guzzled it down with a huge grin.

"Oh, wow!" Rue exclaimed once it was empty. "Water has _never_ tasted so yummy!"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kagome chuckled, pausing with the brushing so she could stare at the bottle.

"Yeah, I was just thirstier for reality than I thought I was," Rue laughed, glancing over her shoulder at the pretty Asian girl. "Anyway, why are you brushing my hair like that? Was it messy or something?"

"_No_," Kagome sighed in Japanese, giving her a small grin. "_I just thought it would be a little hard for you to brush your hair by yourself after getting such a terrible stomach wound. Still... you should feel really lucky to have such awesome hair, Miharu-chan._"

"_Lucky?_" Rue scoffed, twisting around to stare at the girl with an incredulous expression. "_Why should I feel lucky about my hair? Everyone back home thought I looked like a freak because of the unnatural color and how long I let it grow! I mean, my hair is whiter than the snow in northern Japan!_"

"That much is true, but they don't know how wrong they are if they think your hair is ugly!" Kagome exclaimed, looking completely shocked. "You may not realize it, Rue-chan, but your hair really _is_ awesome! It's so soft that it feels like... like… like... er, I dunno, maybe satin or something. Also, it's so shiny that it looks like a mirror when you stare at it from far away—seriously, a real _mirror!_ Plus, it's so long that you're making all of the village women around here feel a little envious... mostly because it's rare to see girls with hair as long as ours is! I'll bet you didn't know that now, did you?"

"Eh…" Rue intoned, blinking twice in surprise, "no, I didn't."

"I rest my case!" Kagome said triumphantly, giving the albino girl a smug grin. "Your hair rocks the roof off the house."

"Hey, Kagome! Is the little midget up yet?" a demanding voice suddenly boomed from outside. Both girls glanced up when Inuyasha brushed the bamboo door aside and poked his head in, folding his arms as he glared at them. "Oh, good… hey, you, Kaede said that you have some sort of weird powers that we didn't know about, so would you mind explaining why you kept it a secret from us?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped, turning on him in an instant. "Miharu-chan isn't an enemy of ours, so you need to quit—"

"No, Kagome-san…" Rue interrupted, stopping the other girl's tirade as she dropped her head in defeat. "He's right… In all honesty, I have a slight control over the elements of time, water, air, and fire."

_"Slight?"_ Inuyasha demanded, glaring at her suspiciously. "How _slight_ are we talking here?"

"U-um…" Rue stammered hesitantly as she searched for an answer; then she squeezed her eyes shut and blurted it all out, "Slight, as in the fact that I'm somehow not a human like I believed my entire life and there's a demon who recently became trapped inside my body! She can trigger my dormant abilities with her own and help me use my powers whenever I'm in danger, but only until my powers supposedly awaken on their own!"

"You're possessed by a demon?!" Kagome cried, jerking backward and away from Rue before she staggered to her feet. "Miharu-chan, how?!"

In the span of a second, Inuyasha was standing protectively in front of her .

"I guess this means we'll have to cut the demon out!" he growled, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face.

Ria let out a growl from inside Rue's body, sending a wave of her anger coursing through the small girl's heart. Rue let out a squeak of alarm as her vision unexpectedly darkened and she lost consciousness, convulsing twice before falling backward with her hair splayed out around her head. Kagome and Inuyasha eyed her warily, but the Japanese girl couldn't keep a small shriek from escaping her lips when Rue's eyes suddenly snapped open again: that's when the two of them noticed that her eyes were no longer burning gold; they were an electric blue color that caught the light like a mirror.

Rue's body slowly stood up and glared at them, only now she was no longer Rue Thompson—she was Ria D'Harana.

"You'll do good not to test my powers, dog!" Ria stated calmly, slowly standing up to face him with hard blue eyes. "I'm much stronger than you could ever take me for—especially since I'm trapped inside the body of a Celestial Goddess!"

"Rue-chan?" Kagome gasped, slanted brown eyes becoming almost perfectly round.

"No, child… I am the demon trapped inside her—but feel reassured when I say that I don't pose her any threat," Ria murmured, expression softening in an almost motherly way as she looked at her. "She promised to help me find away to get free, so we're working on this together —but if you try to kill me, this girl will die as well because I'm stuck to her! Our souls are… too connected to force us apart without destroying our consciousnesses!"

"Shut your mouth, you liar!" Inuyasha hissed, drawing his fist back as he crouched slightly. "You're a demon taking over the body of a girl! I know how your kind acts towards humans, so feel free to lay down and die!"

"Inuyasha, stop it!" Kagome cried, pulling hard on the half-demon's red kimono sleeve. "She's on our side!"

"Hell, no!" he snapped. "If we trust her, she'll probably turn on us the second after she's free!"

"And if you _don't_ trust me, Rue and I will _both_ die because of your stupidity!" Ria quietly shot back, folding her skinny arms and glaring up at him with her piercing blue eyes. "You can't kill me without killing her, so you have no choice but to help us until I get out of here! After that... well, you can try to kill me if you still feel that I'm untrustworthy… but only if you can keep up with me! However, you cannot tell Rue that she is a Celestial Goddess; she needs to figure it out on her own—and if you tell her, your souls will be sucked into an one-way dimensional warp… straight into the pits of hell."

"What if I don't believe you?" Inuyasha sneered as he sauntered over to her, quickly clamping his clawed hand around her slender throat and pushing her against the floor. He brought his face within an inch of her own and stared into her arctic blue eyes, that condescending twist of his mouth giving his expression a cruel look. "What if I decided to shut your mouth forever and kill you right now? What will you do if I try to kill you?"

"I'll tell Rue that I'm sorry I let her down once we both cross over, and after that I'll forgive you. It's all I can do," Ria replied softly, meeting his gaze without fear as his grip tightened on her throat. "You may not trust me, but my words are true despite what you believe about pureblooded demons. Honestly, I could kill you right now with just a single thought if I chose to do so—and were I like any other uncompassionate creature in this realm, I probably would have killed you moment you insulted and threatened me. However, I am not like them, so do what you want: the choice is yours, and I won't stand in the way of letting you decide. Only, keep in mind that it isn't just me you'll be destroying; you'll also be killing Rue Thompson."

"I don't think I believe your sappy little true-of-heart and oh-so-righteous crap," Inuyasha sneered, tightening his grip. "I think you're lying to me, and I don't let liars live, so either fight back or prepare to die."

Ria didn't move a muscle or even flinch when he made the threat; she simply stared at him with those soft red eyes and gazed at him when he began cutting off her airway. However, even a powerful demon like her couldn't keep the pain from showing up on her face when he purposely began crushing her windpipe. Kagome clutched her shirt as she watched the two with horrified brown eyes, barely able to look at the scene unfolding in front of her.

Inuyasha—the boy she'd fallen head-over-heels for—was bent over the immobile shape of a small, fragile-looking fifteen-year-old girl in an attempt to strangle an innocent demon woman who had unwillingly been trapped inside that girl's body.

"Stop it, Inuyasha!" Kagome finally cried, moving forward and pulling the half-demon off of Rue's body.

"Nice timing," Ria panted as she lay where she was, coughing slightly as she stared up at the ceiling. "He was beginning to have me worried. For a moment, I truly thought that I was going to have Rue's death on my hands for not doing anything to stop him. However, she's coming around now, so here's a fair warning to you both that you have to listen to: don't tell her what she really is. Heed my words, and you'll be safe from the netherworld."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked breathlessly, staring down at the immobile girl as she closed her eyes.

"Oww…" Rue croaked, yellow eyes fluttering open even as her voice returned to normal; she lifted a small hand and absently touched her neck as she sat up and looked around with a dazed eyes. "Ugh, what the heck just happened to me? Why does my throat hurt so much? I thought I heard Ria."

"Ria?" Kagome asked, hesitantly sitting down in front of her. "That's her name?"

"Yeah," Rue replied, rubbing her sore throat. "Her name is Ria Primrose D'Harana, and she's a nine-tailed fox demon who was somehow trapped inside my body on my way here. I was able to talk to her only a few days after you left us."

"A full blooded nine-tail?" Inuyasha squeaked, paling slightly in horror. "I tried to kill a nine-tailed fox?!"

"What is it?" Kagome asked curiously, taking in his expression with raised eyebrows.

"I've sort of been wondering that myself, too," Rue added, lips twisting skeptically. "I've been left in the dark about what a nine-tailed fox demon is since Ria seems to think that the name of her kind explains everything. I can accept the fact that nobody can tell me what _I_ am since it could get them killed, but I really want to know what _she_ is since the knowledge of her existence obviously doesn't pose a threat to the person telling me about it."

"Well, nine-tailed foxes are the rarest and purest of all demons in the world," Inuyasha explained, still looking very pale. "They're so rare that I didn't even believe they existed. I've only heard of them through odd rumors, but there are legends that revere of how they have an incredibly strong control over the element of fire—stronger than a normal fox demon's by a thousand fold. In the dark days—the era before this one—all of the nine-tails were worshipped as gods instead of regular demons because they held a capacity for positive emotions: the fact that they chose to help instead of harm was proof of their sincerity. Then, some sort of natural catastrophe struck and they were wiped out during the destruction that swept across the island of Japan. They're one of the few remaining wonders of the world since there's a living, breathing nine-tailed fox demon living inside you, Rue."

"Wow…" Rue and Kagome whispered simultaneously, sharing an awed glance.

"One of those rare fox demons was here not long ago, trying to take the jewel shards that Kagome had left behind," Kaede sighed in dismay, slowly entering the room. "Sadly though, the demon was able to take them from us… so I apologize for our mistake."

"It's okay, Kaede: you tried to protect them, and that's all I could hope for," Kagome reassured, then turned to the silver-haired girl and eyed her with a suspicious expression. "Rue-chan, is Ria-san the fox-demon who took the jewel shards?"

"Um, yeah," Rue sighed, dropping her head again. "Ria told me that they had been stolen from her by some humans or something while she had been sleeping when we first made contact, so she stole them back and drew herself into the sacred tree to hide when the people she'd taken them from attacked her. It was around that moment that I was sucked through the tree back home, now that I think about it... how odd."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Kagome asked, looking at her with a sympathetic expression. "We could have found a way to help you."

"Because I deal with most of my problems alone, Kagome-san," Rue replied forlornly, biting her lip. "I always have—and if you really saw what was written in my diaries, you should know that already. I think when I made the wish to find someone who would love me despite my faults, the jewels resting inside Ria's body heard me because we were so close… and maybe they responded to it. They weren't doing anything to Ria alone; they were doing something to the both of us—and I think that's why they made me absorb Ria's soul as I passed into to this time frame."

"I can see how that could be possible," Kagome allowed, placing a hand on Rue's shoulder. "I've seen the jewel fragments do amazing things, but this is much different. What I don't understand is why I can't sense the shards: if Ria had them inside her body, and now she's trapped inside you, I should still be able to sense them—but for some reason I can't even feel them."

"Odd," Kaede stated, glancing at Rue with curious eyes.

"Can we stop talking already and figure out what we're going to do?" Inuyasha finally snapped, folding his arms across his chest as he sat down against the wall behind him with an irritated expression on his face.

"Yes, we should," Kagome mumbled to herself. "How do you get a demon out of a… _girl_ without tearing the two of them apart?"

"Perhaps an exorcism?" Kaede suggested.

_No, no, and no again!_ Ria instantly exclaimed from inside Rue's mind. _Doing that may save Rue, but it will kill me without a doubt in the world! I may be a legendary fox demon, but that doesn't mean I'm not affected by that sort of thing._

"Ria says no to that option because it'll kill her," Rue explained for the woman.

"Anything will kill her and she'll probably let it," Inuyasha muttered under his breath. "Yep, she'll just let it happen because she's oh-so pure-hearted and righteous, unlike the other pureblooded demons. Tch, yeah right!"

_If I were you, I'd probably try shutting the hole spewing out that petty garbage, dog-boy, _Ria immediately snapped._ You're honestly angering me to the point where I'll physically shove Rue's foot so far up your ass that she'll probably need to cut it off simply to get it out!_ _So stop being_ _a bitch and_ _grow up!_

"Ria says to shut it, Inuyasha... only she worded it much more… obscenely," Rue said calmly, somehow managing to greatly abbreviate the woman's strong words with a straight face—despite the fact that her twitching mouth was trying to pull itself into a huge smile.

"What the hell did she say to me?!" Inuyasha roared, picking Rue up by her collar. "Wanna have her repeat that, out loud, little wench?"

"Freeze," Rue commanded calmly.

"SIT!" Kagome shouted at the same time. Inuyasha's body froze solid as the flow of time surrounding him stopped, and only a second later he slammed face-first into the ground. The floor shook as his immobile body smashed into the wood.

"Release," Rue giggled, teasingly patting his silver head and scratching his fuzzy ears. "Who's a good boy?"

"Get offa me!" he grumbled, angrily waving her hands off with a glare. "I ain't nobody's puppy, so get your hands offa my ears!"

However, the girl could see that that the anger didn't reach his eyes. As she was looking down at him, Rue suddenly had the eerily disconcerting feeling that she was looking down into Sesshomaru's face. A shiver ran through her body and she hastily rubbed her arms in an effort to erase the gooseflesh that had risen there.

"Rue, do you recognize this?" Kagome suddenly asked, reaching into her skirt pocket and pulling out a bottle containing a several small round shards that looked like they had been severed from a larger gem. The pinkish purple color sent a flash of recognition through Rue's body, and she stiffened as she remembered the violet light shining out of the tree.

_The Sacred Jewel,_ Ria stated quietly, speaking from deep inside her: almost instantly, Rue closed her eyes with a gasp as a feeling of icy energy swept through her and a violet glow broke out across her body. When she opened her eyes again, the girl lifted her arms and glanced down at herself in wonder. This wasn't exactly something she was used to seeing, not at all.

"You _do_ have jewel shards!" Kagome laughed, staring at the glow around the younger girl with wide eyes.

"Whoa…" Rue murmured under her breath, staring at her glowing body with a weird feeling in her belly. "This is way too cool for words... but at the same time, it looks like I've somehow become radioactive after falling into a vat of toxic waste. I look like an offbeat Sailor Moon super-hero right now."

"I agree," Kagome chuckled in amusement, shaking her head with a quiet giggle at the girl's observation.

Other gasps and whispers suddenly joined their own, and Rue glanced up as Sango, Miroku, and Shippo slowly entered the room—staring in shock at Rue's glowing form. However, the purple light slowly began to fade away as they sat down around her, and all too soon the glow disappeared completely. Kaede only sat down after it had vanished, stirring the pot of stew resting over the fireplace in the center of the room.

The woman kept her eyes on her work, but Rue could see that her expression was hard.

"So… this means that there are jewel shards inside of you, too?" Miroku asked with a charming smile, scooting over to sit closer to Rue "Well, I guess that only means you're beautiful _and_ special."

However, when his hand suspiciously found its way to her behind again, Rue turned on him with a furious expression.

After smacking his hand away and jumping to her feet, the girl began drawing water droplets right out of the air with her mind. Everyone's jaw dropped open when the moisture condensed into swirling streams of airborne liquid and watched with huge eyes as the water swirled around Rue's small body. With a glare, the girl whirled around like lightning and sent a roundhouse kick straight into the monk's chest—sending him sprawling on his back. Then, after drawing her hands back and thrusting them forward, two streams of the condensed water shot towards his wrists and engulfed them in liquid.

Finally finishing her assault, Rue sent a surge of icy energy into the water and froze the stunned man to the ground.

"Don't touch my backside again unless you want a bad case of frostbite to permanently numb those groping fingers of yours," Rue snapped at the monk, calmly dusting her hands off as she sat down. "I've had way too many perverted men try to make a move on me these past few weeks, and I'm not putting up with it anymore. So please, keep your distance from me."

"Ugh, it's so cold! I can't even feel my fingers!" Miroku groaned, vainly trying to free himself. "Darn this cursed hand!"

"More like a cursed personality," Sango muttered as she glared down at him. "Serves you right, pervert."

"Ditto," Kagome stated simply, purposely ignoring the helpless monk.

"Miroku will never learn," Inuyasha added with a smirk.

"Now that the flirtations are out of the way, why don't we eat and discuss what it is ye all plan to do about this unsavory situation?" Kaede inquired with an amused chuckle, passing a few clay sculpted bowls full of food around the room. Rue timidly poked at the odd-looking soup before trying a bite, but her golden eyes widened in delight when she discovered how delicious it was. After that first bite, she eagerly devoured the rest with a huge grin on her face. The soup filled her with a warm, sleepy feeling that only a good meal could ever bring. Rue sighed after she finished the food, letting out a contented yawn. The last two weeks had been hard, but even though the meals hadn't helped, the company had always been good.

_Right about now, Rin would be chasing Jaken around, who would constantly threaten to hit her with his staff when we all knew full and well that he never would,_ Rue thought silently, smiling secretively to herself as she remembered the memories of the time she'd spent with them. _And then Sesshomaru would finally be telling Rin to go to sleep, which she would happily do with a big smile—like always. Those nights had actually been… well, fun, in an odd sort of way. None of us are alike, but still—the five of us made up a group. We were a team, and a family._

"What do I do?" she asked softly, staring down at the floor. "Where do I go from here?"

"Now?" Kagome inquired, placing a hand on the pale girl's shoulder and smiling broadly. "You let your friends help you."


	11. Chapter 10: Loneliness

**Chapter Ten: Loneliness  
**

"Rue, you idiot—get down!" Inuyasha shouted, charging the girl from behind and hitting her on the back of the head.

"OW!" she squeaked, flailing around and pushing him away when the attempt to knock her down failed pathetically."I can take care of myself!"

After straightening her newly washed school blazer and flicking her silver ponytail over her shoulder, the albino girl strung her bow once again and sighted down the shaft—aiming the metal-tipped projectile at the huge bug-like monster that was currently ripping through a local family's house in Lady Kaede's village. It's been nearly four weeks since she'd first arrived in the Feudal Era and the girl was still trapped there: Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo had left her every now and then to go look for Naraku, but they could only return when they needed supplies.

They'd just gotten back the previous day to restock when the bug-like demon decided to show up and attack the village that morning.

While they'd been away, Kaede and a few of the villagers had given her lessons in archery so she could defend herself: the girl was currently in the process of training herself to use the abilities that she and Ria both possessed. In truth, Rue had made it her personal goal to help keep Ria calm and out of stressful situations—because the more stress she was put through gets in, the closer the two of them became. The strength of their bond had honestly begun to scare Rue: she felt like might no longer be possible to separate themselves because their minds had merged to much.

"Look out!" Kagome shouted as the giant stick-bug-looking monster slammed its foot into the ground.

"Yikes!" Rue squeaked, whipping around and sprinting away; she darted behind the nearest tree just as the waves of debris passed by her, kicking up dirt and throwing grass into the air its wake. Rue coughed a little and tried to get in all the she'd breathed in out of her lungs; then, feeling more than a little angry, she whirled out from behind the tree and aimed at the demon once again. Her knee-length green school skirt fanned out around her slender legs as she twisted like a dancer and sighted down the arrow's shaft. Rue then focused her mind and sent a shockwave of energy radiating through her arms and into the arrow itself, letting her anger fuel the power: the arrow began to glow with blue light as a ball of white fire ignited.,

The flames grew into a baseball of concentrated heat at the tip of the arrow's point.

With a wild cry triumph, the girl released the arrow and it ignited completely: the blazing projectile hit the demon square in the chest and exploded.

"Yay!" Rue cheered, leaping into the air and flinging her legs up behind her as she clapped and squeaked like an excited anime girl. "I did it!"

"Shut up and let me show you some real fighting skills, Fox-girl!" Inuyasha laughed in response, finally drawing his sword and racing at the demon before leaping impossibly high into the air. Rue watched with folded arms and a raised eyebrow as he swung his blade and roared, "Wind Scar!"

The sound of wind ripped into the air as a wave of golden energy smashed into the ground below, ripping across the field and slicing through the demon with the three claw-like marks that Inuyasha had created. The monster screeched in pain as it was engulfed in light and dust—but when the floating debris finally cleared, Rue saw that the demon was lying dead in three separate pieces behind several jagged chasms in the ground.

"Show off," Rue snapped, crossing her arms as Ria burst into laughter inside her mind.

"No... it's called talent," Inuyasha snickered as he sheathed his sword—appropriately named Tetsusaiga—and turned to their approaching friends.

"Are you insane?!" Miroku ranted, throwing his arms into the air. "Inuyasha, you could've destroyed the whole town along with everyone in it! If you wanted to show off, you could have at least given us a warning when your ego decided to surface!"

"Shut up!" Inuyasha snapped. "I killed the demon, didn't I?"

"Trying to show off," Rue pointed out, raising a thin eyebrow at him.

"I was not! That demon needed to be killed, and your tiny little flames weren't doing much good!" Inuyasha retorted angrily, stomping away from her and over toward the corpse of the monster he'd slain, followed closely by Miroku. "I did what I had to!"

"Is my fire really that small…?" Rue wondered aloud, staring at her tiny hands with an expression of dismay. "I guess I was right, then—I'm much better with attacks that involve water, electricity, and air since those elements leave more room for flexibility. Plus, I prefer using my powers alone... I've never really tried to combine my powers with an actual weapon until now, so it's no wonder that he thinks I'm a weakling."

"Don't listen to him, Rue," Sango sighed, wrapping an arm around the girl's small shoulder as she swung her giant boomerang across her back. "That's just his male pride talking, not his heart."

"Yeah—and he knows that demon would have been blown to bits instead of only being stunned that if you'd been using a lightning ball," Kagome chuckled in amusement. "I have to admire how quickly you learn things, though: your aim is improving quicker than mine did when I first came here."

"Thank you—but I only got good at it because, lately, all I've been doing around here practicing to shoot arrows," Rue replied, letting out a discouraged sigh as she untied her silver hair and let it fall freely around her body. "Without the archery lessons, I probably would have gotten pretty bored... I mean, jumping into the bone eater's well is a trip, but climbing out of it isn't all that fun when you're—"

"You've been doing what?" Kagome interrupted, firmly planting her hands on her hips; however, the Asian girl's face was expressing worry that only a mother could have understood. "Rue-chan, I thought we discussed this! We've already tried going through the well together several times before, but you get left behind each time! I know it's a little weird since you have jewel shards inside you—but it's obviously not working, so you shouldn't stress yourself out... I mean, you said that stress was a bad thing for Ria, didn't you?"

"Yes, and I know that you guys are right about what you're all telling me—but I can't keep from trying," Rue whined, hanging her head with a slightly shaken expression on her face. "I keep having dreams where I'm standing in front of the well, and then my mom suddenly leaps out of it and pulls me down into the dark… and then I open my eyes and I'm suddenly back home in my bed. Sometimes, I can't even tell whether they're real or not!"

"Oh, Rue…" Sango sighed, brown eyes becoming sad; she instantly the girl a little hug. "Don't worry: we'll do everything we can to get you home."

When shouts from Shippo and Inuyasha began to rise in the distance, Kagome and Sango ran in that direction to stop the argument. Rue sighed after the departed and headed off into the forest on her own. It was really lonely for her in the Feudal Era whenever they left for those long periods of time—but even when they were staying in the village, the girl still felt out of place compared to the rest of them.

She didn't know how to explain it, but she felt sort of distant in comparison.

_If I don't belong here, and I don't belong back home,_ Rue wondered silently, _then where_ do_ I belong? _

_Rue, don't stress yourself,_ Ria suddenly called from inside her. _Not only can I hear and see your thoughts now, but I can feel the effects of your emotions too. Remember that._

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Rue sighed, shaking her head to clear out all of her worries before continuing on.

_You're getting better at controlling your feelings, I see,_ Ria noted, smiling from within.

"It's all because of you," Rue replied with a smirk. "You know what? I'm going to miss you most of all when I leave."

_If you leave at all, that is,_ Ria retorted, instantly frowning inside her mind.

"Who's being stressful now?" Rue snapped, face pulling into a childish but still adorably cute-looking pout.

_No one is, you sourpuss!_ Ria retorted, bursting into a fit of hysterical laughter upon her reaction. _I may just decide to adopt you and keep_ _you here! _

"Ha-ha, oh wow, my gut just blew up from laughing so hard," Rue stated sarcastically, speaking the words in a monotonous drone as her pout deepened into a scowl. Ria only laughed harder, and Rue girl rolled her eyes in exasperation. When the girl came to her favorite tree, she broke into a quick sprint and leapt at it, striking out with her feet. With skills and precision that a professional gymnast couldn't ever hope to achieve, Rue sank onto the living wood for a brief moment before springing out with all her strength and stretching her arms out. Her palms closed on a branch hanging twelve feet above the ground, and she used her momentum to swing her body around twice. When the movements of her body slowed, however, the girl flexed her muscles and held herself perched in a handstand on the branch, keeping her balance as she slowly brought her legs behind her head and planted them on the branch. After that, she lifted her upper torso until she was standing upright on the wood and finally plopped down.

_Impressive,_ Ria noted when the girl smiled in a giddy way. _You're pretty flexible._

"Thanks!" Rue giggled, tucking her hair behind an ear. "I love doing it because of the thrill it gives me."

However, the girl's smile faded a moment later as she began to concentrate on her training. Focusing her mind, Rue closed her eyes and heated up the air between her palms. When the rippling waves of heat finally ripped the air and a small ball of flame ignited, Rue tossed it from hand to hand. Playing with fireballs was a lot of fun, but the best part was the fact that it was one of the first games Ria had taught her to use for her training.

"Rue-chan, where are you?" Shippo suddenly called, speaking from somewhere nearby.

"Hi, Shippo!" Rue playfully called from her tree. "I'm over here!"

"How'd you get all the way up there?!" he exclaimed, racing over to the base of her tree and looking up at her in surprise.

"Practice!" she laughed back, swinging her skinny legs and waving down at him coyly; she watched in amazement as the small bundle of fur shrugged and put something between his teeth before he scampered up the bark like a squirrel. "Wow, you're pretty capable of getting up here, too, I see."

"Meh, it's nothin'," Shippo intoned with a shrug once he was sitting next to her; after a moment, though, he handed her a small container with a hopeful grin on his furry face. "Kagome asked me to bring you this. She said that she was heading back home for a few hours and asked me to keep you some company while she was gone."

"Thanks, Shippo," Rue murmured, eyes instantly becoming solemn. "It means a lot to me."

"Hey, are you okay?" Shippo inquired, tapping her skirt-clad leg with a furry paw. "You seem sort of down."

"Nope, I'm happy as can be!" Rue told him quickly, flashing him a mischievous grin. "I'm great, really! I was just practicing a few fire and water lessons before I sleep tonight... which reminds me, have you been practicing, too?"

"Yeah! You wanna see?!" the fox demon cried, bouncing excitedly and looking at her with large eyes. "I got really good at it!"

"Of course, little man! Why wouldn't I?" Rue exclaimed, smiling at the anthropomorphic child's enthusiasm. He instantly flashed her a delighted canine-like grin before jumping into the air and throwing out his hand. "Show me the magic, Shippo!"

"Fox fire!" he cried, and a stream of blue flames flew out across the clearing.

"Awesome job!" Rue cheered, whooping and clapping. "You've really been working hard at it!"

"Yeah, and it's been a whole lot easier since you and Ria gave me a few lessons!" Shippo laughed, setting himself down on the branch once again and swinging his tiny legs. "I wanted to thank you bunches for them, too, because they're really helpful when Inuyasha tries to pick on me now! He stays away almost all the time, and I think it's because he's scared of me! He never hits me anymore, either, and it's all thanks to you!"

"I'll _bet_ he's scared of you," Rue giggled, and the two of them broke into laughter."That fire of yours isn't anything to mess around with!"

Shippo told a few jokes about the half-demon, and Rue tried to mimic Inuyasha's male pride and huge ego problem after the child shifted his position and sat in her lap. When they finally settled down and started to walk back to the village, Shippo sat on her shoulders and happily told her about their progress in searching for Naraku. When a few of the village children ran up to her and asked if Shippo could play with them, the fox boy leapt off her shoulder and ran off with a cheerful war cry. As Rue watched him run away with the other children, she felt sort of confused and alone as she thought about the world she was in. If a small demon child like Shippo was accepted in a town of humans, then why did other demons hate them and half-demons so much? An image of Sesshomaru's face flashed across Rue's mind and she quickly shook her head.

She wouldn't let herself think of him ever again: he was just another demon in her eyes.

As she was walking back to Kaede's hut, however, the girl's thoughts slowly turned back to Shippo: Ria had explained that the reason why his fire was a different color than hers was because he was only a child, and she'd explained that it would change into his own personality's color as he grew older. Ria, on the other hand, was a nine-tailed fox demon: she'd told Rue that her fire was different than the regular fox demon's, but she hadn't really gone into detail about it. Pushing the reed door aside with a sigh, she jerked to a halt when she walked in on a gloomy atmosphere.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Rue inquired curiously, blinking a few times in surprise. "Did somebody die?"

"Kagome left and Inuyasha is depressed," Miroku reported, smiling at her from his seat across the fire. "He can't stand being apart from her."

"I just don't understand why she has to go home all the time," Inuyasha instantly snapped. "Staying here would give us more time to look for Naraku."

Rue rolled her eyes and walked into the room before plopping down on a cushion.

Inuyasha's mood always became this way whenever Kagome left.

"Don't worry, Dog-boy: she'll come back with your chew toys soon enough," Rue stated brightly, shooting him a playful glance a she ran a small hand through her soft silver hair and drew the majority of it over her shoulder.

"Shut it, Fox-girl!" he snapped, hopping up and heading out the door.

For the rest of the day, Inuyasha sat on the roof with his legs crossed, sulking. Sango and Miroku eventually went for a walk through the town, so Rue helped Kaede pick herbs for the medicine she usually started making around the afternoon time. Shippo came back to the hut around dinnertime, and he eagerly offered to help Rue prepare the food while Kaede worked on other things. The meal-making gave the two of them more time to bond while the others were busy, and both of them ended up laughing multiple times. Miroku and Sango signaled their return when the sound of a slap and a yelp echoed through the air. Rue rolled her eyes as Shippo giggled, both of them knowing the lecherous monk had tried to reach for the woman's backside again. However, Rue's world once again came crashing down when Kagome came into the hut not long after them—her arms full of bags.

"Hey guys, I'm back!" the girl stated quietly, looking pale and utterly devoid of her usual cheer.

"Hi, Kagome!" Everyone chimed together, not really noticing the worry on the girl's expression.

Rue smiled as she watched them from her spot in front of the stove, thinking that the group was like one of those old cheesy TV shows about how American families acted back in the seventies. The father would come home from work, and the entire family would get up to great him with hugs and smiles. The girl thought it was awesome how those days still showed their colors at the weirdest possible times.

"Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome asked weakly. "He needs to be here when I report, okay? It's important."

"Er… he wasn't on the roof when you showed up?" Sango inquired, looking up in surprise.

"Nope, his usual spot was empty," Kagome murmured, shaking her head. "Hmmm... I guess that means more chips for us until he gets back."

"Ah! You brought potato chips?!" Rue cried happily, watching with adoring golden eyes as Kagome dug into her bags and pulled out an orange bag of cheddar potato chips. "Yay! Praise the Lord! I'm in heaven!"

"Here, Rue! We can share this one!" Shippo exclaimed with a hopeful glance, holding the open bag in his tiny paws as he set it between them.

"Thanks, little man!" Rue laughed, mussing up his pointy fox ears before she took a chip and bit into it. When the familiar flavor of the snack filled her mouth, her eyes rolled back and she groaned in delight. "Oh, yummy! Wow, I almost forgot what a potato chip tasted like!"

_This tastes weird…_ Ria muttered.

"Hah!" Rue snorted, bursting into laughter. "Whatever, Ria!"

"What did she say?" Shippo asked curiously.

"She says that the potato chips taste weird," Rue scoffed, looking at the little boy in disbelief.

"Whatever!" Shippo snorted in shock. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, then burst into a fit of laughter that had the two of them rolling on the ground. However, their laughter came to an abrupt halt and they glanced up when a familiar voice snapped at Kagome from the doorway.

"You came back without telling me?" Inuyasha grumbled, stomping over to the wall behind Kagome. "Jeez, some friend you are!"

"Here you go," Kagome stated playfully, responding to the put-down by handing him his own bag of potato chips.

"I told him so!" Rue giggled, nudging Shippo with her elbow—who clamped his paws against his mouth and snickered. "He never listens to me."

"Nope, not in the least!" the child mumbled past his quiet giggles. "He's so predictable, isn't he?"

"I heard that!" Inuyasha snapped, glaring at them. Shippo and Rue started laughing again while the half demon glared daggers at them, the happy sound lifting into the darkening sky above.

"Well, now that everyone is here," Kagome slowly began, diverting everyone's attention to her worried face instantly, "I have some really… um, bad news from home that's centered around Rue's disappearance."

"Huh?" Rue whispered, laughter vanishing almost instantly. "What do you mean, Kagome?"

"Rue, this may come as sort of a shock to you," Kagome grimly began, "but do you know anything about a boy named Tsuruuki Takahashi?"

"Tsu…" Rue squeaked, then trailed off into silence before she could even begin to speak. Everyone turned to stare at the silver-haired girl as her golden eyes became horribly blank, and her companions instantly became uneasy when she jerkily nodded the affirmative. In truth, this was the first time any of them had ever seen the albino girl even _remotely_ act this way: she had never let her emotions slip like this in the past.

"Well, then we're in big trouble," Kagome whispered, biting her lip as her eyes widened in horror. "Rue-chan, my mother told me that a boy named Tsuruuki Takahashi disappeared two weeks ago! When the police talked to his parents, they found out that his father's pistol was also missing! What caught my attention, though, was the fact that all of his stuff was found in front of our sacred tree like your diaries were. When you first told me about the wish business, I took a peek at your wish the second I got home—but when I went home today, I was sort of startled to find out how his stuff was found in front of the tree like yours was. I remembered what you told me about how you got here, and… well…"

"What are you trying to say?" Rue whispered, throat locking up as a cold sweat broke out across her skin.

"I'm saying that Tsuruuki made this wish right here, and I think he's in the Feudal Era, too," Kagome stated in a small, trembling voice as she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and held it out to the girl with a trembling hand. Rue slowly took the paper as everyone watched her face with riveted expressions, wondering what was going on. Shippo scampered up her arm and looked over her shoulder while the girl opened the paper and glanced down at what was written, but after reading the word he let out a horrified gasp. Shippo lost his balance and fell off of the girl's shoulder, landing on the floor in a heap. Rue simply stared at the words with huge, petrified golden eyes as her face completely drained of color and became expressionless.

_I wish that I could find Miharu Tachibana and rape the stupid bitch for having the cops all over me. I want to stab and torture the little fuck for ruining my life... I want to make her her suffer the worst pain imaginable and laugh in her face before I put a bullet in her head. I wish that someone would find her!_

"Well, all I can say is 'fuck my life,'" Rue peeped weakly, shaking her head in disbelief as a slightly maniacal laugh escaped her lips; then, right in front the very shocked eyes of her companions, the small girl fell over and fainted dead away.

**TXXXXXT**

"Lord Sesshomaru, do you think Miss Rue is okay?" Rin asked sadly, peaking for the first time in nearly two weeks. "I really miss her."

Sesshomaru was actually surprised by the little girl's inquiry: he'd nearly forgotten what her voice sounded like.

Rin hadn't even so much as skipped around after Rue vanished, and she never hummed the annoying little songs she used to come up with anymore. Everything she used to enjoy seemed to have come to an end when Rue Nightingale left them: ever since the silver-haired teenager had run off, Rin had become quieter and depressed with each day that passed.

"That silver-haired twit was only a sack of luggage, Rin! She probably went back to Inuyasha's village and returned home, so forget her!" Jaken snapped, but his voice sounded oddly weak and frail. "Forget her…"

"But, I can't…" Rin protested, sad brown eyes dropping back to the path. "I can't forget her... she's my sister."

_Sister?_ Sesshomaru wondered silently, instantly stopping in his tracks._ Did that girl really worm her way into Rin's life in only five days? _

"Jaken," the demon lord stated quietly, looking up at the sky and turning his nose to the wind. "What do you know of tracking down humans?"


	12. Chapter 11: Shattered Soul

**Chapter Eleven: Shattered Soul**

For some odd reason, Rue woke up way earlier than she normally did and Ria stirred restlessly inside her the moment she opened her fiery golden eyes. To Rue, something about the air inside the hut felt… wrong, somehow—almost as though something bad was about to happen.

_Something's not right,_ Rue thought with a frown, slowly sitting up and staring at the wall. _I don't know how, but I can feel it..._

After getting up, she silently dressed in her school uniform and shoes, tied her hair into a half-up ponytail, and then tiptoed to the door. Before she moved the bamboo flap to the side, Rue glanced behind her and stared hard at all of her sleeping friends as she made sure than none of them had woken up. No one was moving except for Shippo, who was rolling around in his sleep and mumbling something about candy.

Her eyes instantly softened.

_God, why is he so cute? _she silently wondered. _It's almost painful, really._

Shaking her head with an amused sigh, Rue slid the flap as quietly as possible and slipped out into the street. The entire village was still asleep and the sky above her barely even had enough light to see. After focusing her mind, Rue lifted her hand and heated the air above her palm. Within the span of seven seconds, a ball of gentle orange flames ignited above her hand and lit the road ahead of her. Rue, following the strange feeling of foreboding that was steadily growing inside her breast, silently padded down the street with a worried frown etched into her expression.

At the edge of the village, the girl stopped and stared at the edge of the road: there, at the bottom of the hill she was standing on, were the graves of the two buried demon corpses—the snake who attacked her when she'd first come to Kaede's village, and the demon bug from the previous day. However, the graves were silent, still, and motionless—and that wasn't where Rue was getting the feeling from.

It was emanating from beyond that, across the fields of tall grass.

_What is it?_ she wondered, hooking a piece of waist-length silver hair behind her ear. Should I go back?

_Rue, go back right now…_ Ria whispered, anxiety beginning to rise. _I know this aura…_

_I can take care of myself, Ria,_ Rue told the woman, making her way into the field as the wind began to pick up.

The gentle gusts bowed the tall grass as it brushed around the girl's slender waist, and she momentarily wished that she had a lawn mower. As she continued to walk through several cultivation fields, she began wondering if the creators of these crop farms made them in an effort to keep them going on forever, but she let the sarcastic thoughts fade because the sickening feeling in her chest was getting stronger with each step that she took.

Eventually the sense of danger became so strong that she paused twice—but each time she chose to go on against her better judgment. Rue halted when she came to the base of a tall mound. Upon further inspection, however, she guessed that it wasn't really a mountain since it was only about thirty feet tall—but then again it wasn't really small enough to be a simple mound of dirt. Rue's golden gaze shifted and her eyes widened with a jolt of fright when she saw that, dug into the side of it, an opening about ten feet tall stretched open like a gaping mouth. It was a cave, but the opening itself wasn't what had her terrified; the source of her fear was the dark, almost sickening purple smoke that was spilling out of the cave.

"What the hell is that?" Rue asked bluntly, staring at the smoke with a wary expression.

_It's an Aura, Rue…_ Ria replied in a low growl.

_That's…?_ Rue silently trailed off as she stared at the rippling smoke-like substance. _That's an aura?_

_Yes,_ Ria replied, answering her inquiry in a threatened growl.

After taking a single step toward the cave, a sudden blast of wind smashed into Rue's body—pulling at her skirt and hair with invisible fingers as it roared past her body. When her waist-length silver hair whipped around her torso, the girl covered her face with a squeak to protect it from the debris that was suddenly pelting her. After a moment, however, Rue was hit by startling recognition: she'd felt this unnaturally bitter wind once before—back when she'd nearly been killed by a freakish tornado that had been created by the woman holding the weird fans.

Rue gasped as the wind died down and hastily began backing away, staring at the entrance with huge golden eyes. However the cloud emanating from the cave suddenly vanished and a man with long, dark brown hair emerged from the shadows. His eyes were redder than any eyes she had ever seen before, and he was standing in such a regal-looking position that it made him seem powerful despite his slender frame.

"What is it we have here?" he casually inquired, voice sounding dark and very deep; out of nowhere, Rue's eyes unintentionally flitted to the right of his form when a small child dressed in a white kimono emerged from the shadows to stand at his side. The girl's dead-looking silver eyes locked on Rue's stricken face for a very long moment, and long tendrils of her white hair billowed around her expressionless face in beautiful, glistening tendrils.

"I've seen her before!" a familiar voice gasped, and in a blast of wind the woman with the fans appeared on the man's other side. "She was with the demon lord, Sesshomaru, about three weeks ago! I saw them as I was flying overhead, Naraku!"

"Well done, Kagura," Naraku stated smoothly; he turned and looked at Rue, pinning the girl to the ground with those deadly red eyes once again. However, suddenly her perspective of him changed before her eyes and he abruptly didn't look so threatening to her. Feeling a jolt of surprise, Rue nearly gasped in mortified shock when she suddenly found herself wanting to stand beside him as well.

_Don't fall for it, Rue!_ Ria shouted, voice breaking through the illusion. _Run away as fast as you can, right now! _

_You don't have to tell me twice,_ Rue hastily replied, slowly beginning to back away.

"Naraku, this girl's soul has been touched by a strange power," the white-haired child stated, speaking in the most emotionless voice that Rue had ever heard. The little girl suddenly looked down at the round mirror in her hands before she turned it on Rue, reflecting the yellow-eyed albino's image for everyone to see. Rue's reflection was glowing with violet light... the same light that had appeared when Kagome had brought out the sacred jewel.

"What the—?!" Rue spluttered, stiffening in surprise; she instantly glanced down at her hands, then looked back up at the mirror.

"I see that she is the daughter of a Celestial Goddess who was born across the northern oceans... she is the last remaining heir to the throne of the Celestial Guardians _and_ the Irish Kingdoms. However, the purity of her unawakened aura has been tainted by the presence of the last female nine-tailed fox demon, who now inhabits her body. Their souls are in the process of merging together because of the Jewel Shard inside them."

Rue stiffened with a jolt of shock, then winced as she waited for the child's soul to be ripped out of her body and dragged into hell like Ria had said it would happen. However, Rue cocked her head to the side and a look of confusion swept across her features when the girl remained standing where she was. Had Ria lied to her about the one-way dimensional warp to hell? Being dishonest about something so serious didn't seem like her at all.

"I can see this too, Kana... the glow is very familiar," Naraku stated calmly, crimson eyes burning deeper into Rue's golden irises and forcing the frail girl to stop once again: she had been rendered immobile through the sheer willpower resting in his eyes. "Kagura, bring her to me."

"As you wish, Naraku," Kagura chuckled, leaping into the air and flying toward Rue.

"Oh, _hell_ no!" Rue squeaked, instantly spinning around on her heel and sprinting back towards the village with her hair and school skirt flying.

Behind her, she could hear Kagura laughing in amusement.

When Rue pushed herself to go as fast as she possibly could, the scenery became a blur and the ground sped past at a dizzying speed. Her feet barely touched the ground as her arms pumped, long white hair flying behind her like a cloud of spider silk. However, a blast of tearing wind suddenly hit the ground behind Rue's feet, ripping up the dirt and sending the girl flying forward at an impossible speed: when she finally hit the ground, she flipped like a rag doll because of her momentum and rolled over and over again, painfully being bashed against the ground. Her violent tumble came to a halt on the edge of the field just outside the village, but when she landed on the ground, her arm was positioned the wrong way.

Because of how she landed, it snapped in half.

"EEEEEYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Rue screeched, squeezing her eyes shut in agony as she wailed out her pain. The sound of her scream echoed out across the fields, seeming to linger in the air as it reverberated off of the mountains and bounced across the valleys far in the distance.

"Silence, girl! I promise I'll make this quick," Kagura chuckled, landing gracefully on the grass about three yards away and blocking her escape route to the village. "You're going to make Naraku really happy... maybe he'll stop following me around so much after this."

A sly and dangerous smile pulled across the woman's face as Rue staggered to her feet, making her look more devilish than need be: the injured albino girl slowly started to back away, panting heavily as she clutched her broken arm. Before she could even think about running away again, Kagura swung her fan again and a deadly slice of wind shredded toward her. Rue's golden eyes instantly widened, and all of a sudden, she had a choice to make.

"Fuck you! I'm not doing this!" Rue finally roared in anger, ignoring the pain from the broken bone in her left forearm as she slung her arms out.

A wall of water suddenly exploded into the air on the right side of her body, swirling up out of the surrounding earth, plants, and air in a monstrous pillar of crystalline liquid. On the left side of her body, a wall of blinding white fire ignited into existence with a thunderous roar, giving off a brilliant flash of light as it exploded into the world. Rue quickly flung her left hand out as the water roared and began whirling around her in wildly-spinning cyclone, then flung her right hand out and directed the fire to do the same, only outside of the water while spinning in the opposite direction.

The elements followed her every whim as she controlled them, and as the water froze her into an icy cocoon, the path of the fire sped up as it swirled up around the ice—whirling until two elemental domes had formed above her. Rue glared at the woman with a fierce expression of hatred on her delicate face, sneering when the wind knocked weakly against the fiery shield without even touching the icy one.

"What?!" Kagura hissed, starting to move toward her.

"Get away from me, bitch," Rue hissed, drawing her lips back in fury. "I swear that I'll freeze the flow of time around your body and incinerate you where you stand if you take another step towards me. Fair warning."

"Kagura!" Inuyasha's distant voice suddenly shouted, and the woman in question spun around to find that Inuyasha and the rest of Rue's friends were running toward them from across the countryside.

"Damn!" the woman snapped, pulling a feather from her hair and enlarging it before jumping on and flying into the air. She pulled a small round object from the inside her kimono and tossed it to the grassland far below. "This should keep them busy for awhile!"

"Rue-chan! Can you hear me?" Kagome cried, trying to approach the dome of fire and ice.

Rue finally dropped her arms and the ice shield shattered into a million shimmering shards while the fire shield simultaneously dissolved into a shower of burning white embers. However, Rue's let out a groan when her legs unexpectedly buckled and she fell forward into the grass. The small girl's long hair fell over her body like a silver blanket when she landed heavily on her stomach, left arm twisted out to the side at an awkward angle.

"Rue!" Sango and Shippo cried, anxiously following Kagome—who'd darted forward and sprinted to the girl's side the moment she'd collapsed.

"You blockhead!" Kagome whispered, rolling her over and gazing worriedly down into her dazed golden eyes. "You could have been killed!"

"I'm okay,_ Onee-chan,_" Rue murmured, startling Kagome by calling her 'big sister' in Japanese. "That just… took a lot out of me. I'm okay, really."

"No, no, you're not okay," Kagome retorted in obvious distress, gently lifting Rue's head and tucking her knees under the girl like a pillow. "I think your arm is broken, and you just exhausted yourself to the point of incoherency by using your abilities to an extent that you've never even had the chance to try before! You're the farthest thing from okay right now."

"Obviously!" Sango harshly agreed. "Why on earth were you even out here all alone in the first place?"

"I felt something weird in the air," Rue croaked out, speaking rapidly in order to explain what had happened, "and then I ran into that freakish wind lady, and some little girl with white hair told me what I was, and some dude told the wind lady to attack me, and I ran away, and she said that Naraku would be pleased to have me right before she attacked me, and I broke my arm when I fell, and I got up and defended myself till you got here."

"Naraku?!" Inuyasha and Miroku shouted simultaneously.

"Yes," Rue replied weakly, closing golden her eyes as she lay limply on Kagome's lap. "That's what she said."

"Let's get you back to Kaede's so you can rest," Kagome began to suggest, but her words were cut short when the ground began to tremble and a low rumble filled the air. The sound soon grew louder and the shuddering heavier.

"What the—?" Sango gasped, gripping her weapon and readying herself for battle as the earth continued to tremble. Miroku placed both of his hands on his long staff as he glanced around warily and Inuyasha pulled out his sword—which transformed in his hands as he did so. Kagome strung her bow with an arrow, but she didn't move from Rue's side despite the fact that the girl's yellow eyes had snapped open and she'd bolted upright.

"What now?" Inuyasha snapped; just as the words left his mouth, the earth split open with a terrible groan—as if the earth itself was crying out in pain. Rue's breath caught as a great mound of twisting grass and roots began to snake into the air. Swirling and tying into knots and braids, arms, claws, and a head began to emerge and take form—outlining the body of a monster.

"Ah! Food!" The earthy demon grumbled in a deep, trembling voice. "My master has fed me well!"

"Master…?" Rue wondered quietly as she shakily tried to climb to her feet.

Kagome instantly grabbed onto the girl's arms in an attempt to hold her up.

"What is that thing?!" Shippo cried hysterically.

"Who cares?" Inuyasha asked bluntly. "Its life is going to end here!"

"I agree," Sango stated, taking her battle stance by Inuyasha's right side while Miroku joined him on his left. Lifting her boomerang-like weapon, Sango spun around three times in a circle before releasing the weapon and sending it flying at the beast with the war-cry, "Hiraikotsu!"

The weapon zipped at the beast with incredible speed, slicing off its arm in one hit.

"Alright, Sango!" Kagome exclaimed, clapping with a huge grin; the demon slayer laughed, but then she froze in shock: the arm had suddenly stopped falling before it could hit the ground below. Soon afterwards, several slimy-looking veins stretched out of the monster's shoulder and attached themselves to the hovering arm, snatching it back up and sewing it in place. "EW! Did it really just do that?!"

"That was a cheat?!" Miroku yelled angrily, shaking his fist.

"No way!" Rue shrieked in horror. "Gross!"

"Why don't you all shut up? You're embarrassing me," Inuyasha sighed, leaping into the air and roaring, "Wind Scar!"

His attack sliced the monster into three parts, just like the previous time with the stick-bug demon—but then, as the light began to subside, the monster chuckled and the earthy veins once again slithered out of the wounds and pulled the pieces of its torso together without any effort.

"That tickled, little man!" The demon laughed in victory. "Who will try next?"

"You asked for it, demon!" Miroku snapped as he pulled off the beads that circled around his hand. Thrusting his palm out, he cried, "Wind tunnel!"

Rue jerked with a start when a powerful gale began ripping everything in Miroku's path toward his hand, pulling any loose objects into the dangerous-looking black hole that had appeared on his skin. Her waist-length hair was pulled in front of her body by the force of the powerful air currents as she watched from behind his back. The beast growled and then opened its mouth, roaring as a thick green fog exploded from the depths of its bowels.

The sickening cloud was grabbed instantly by the suction.

"Miroku, close it! That's poison!" Sango screamed;

The man quickly wrapped the beads around his cursed hand, closing off the incredible pull of air before the poison could reach him.

"What now?" the monk shouted. "Nothing works on him!"

"Now I will feast on this whole village! I shall eat well tonight!" the beast rumbled, reaching forward with outstretched hands…

"Dragon Strike!" a calm voice called, echoing on the wind: Rue's eyes went blank as familiar blue lightning suddenly thundered out across the field.

It engulfed the demon's body with a thunderous crack.

"That has already been tried, little man!" the demon chuckled, turning to look at the new guest.

"_Onee-chan_!" Rin squealed in delight, sprinting up to the girl and tackling her to the ground in a bear hug. "Oh, Rue, I missed you soooo much! How are you doing? Are you okay? Why did you leave us back at the inn? Did I—oh, no! Miss Rue, your arm is broken! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Rue whispered, rubbing the girl's back with her good arm. "Don't worry... I'm..."

However, the teenager cut herself off and her eyes became blank.

After a moment of struggling with a palpitating heart, she forced herself to look up: her head moved slowly and carefully despite the fact that she wanted to move faster. Sure enough, he was approaching the two of them with Jaken following close behind, carrying his two-headed staff like always. All of the memories that Rue had tried so hard to forget, all of the confusing and painfully hollow feelings she had fought so valiantly to ignore ignited in an instant. They came flooding back into her mind as though a dam had burst inside her body.

Rue quickly squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head down.

"Miss Rue…" Rin whispered. "Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine_,_" Rue lied, hugging the child close with her good arm. "Don't worry about me so much..."

"But I missed you so much," Rin said quietly, burying her face in the older girl's green skirt. "I really did! Don't leave us ever again!"

"I missed you, too," Rue whispered, staring off into the distance with vacant eyes as the breeze played with her shimmering silver hair.

"Yeah, this is all a great warm, fuzzy reunion and all—but why the hell are you here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha growled. "Why did you come to us?!"

"Don't speak to him like that, you ungrateful child!" Jaken yelled at him in disgust. "You have no right!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this to your face, but boy—I missed you like crazy, Jaken!" Rue instantly exclaimed, running over to the imp and quickly lifting him into her good arm: the girl hugged him fiercely and planted a kiss on his nose before breaking out into laughter. However, when she finally put him down, Jaken stumbled in shock and tried to get words out of his mouth—obviously caught off guard. When nothing came out of his mouth, he huffed and crossed his arms, green face turning a very interesting shade of purple: Rue smirked when she realized he was blushing because of her.

"Wow, Master Jaken!" Rin immediately laughed, skipping over to him. "I've never seen your face look purple before!"

"Ah, now you have brought me a child to eat as well," the beast suddenly exclaimed. "I must thank you this delightful little snack!"

"Don't even think about touching her!" Rue instantly roared, leaping in front of Rin and spreading her arms wide. "EVER!"

"Rue, stop!" Kagome cried, covering her mouth in horror when the girl's broken arm popped sickeningly do to her unthinking motions. However, as the silver-haired girl stood there, her eyes began to glow with an iridescent blue light... and not even a second later, an explosion of power ripped throughout her body: a door that had been hidden inside her soul had opened just a crack, allowing the girl to use what lay behind it.

The glowing blue mark immediately began to wind across her body, illuminating her pearly skin with its blinding light.

"Leave my family alone!" Rue screeched, voice echoing out across the earth and causing everything else to fall silent: it was almost as though the very power in her voice had drowned out all other sound. Everyone, even _Sesshomaru,_ turned to look at the albino girl when the sound of her echoing voice seemed to distort their senses. Kagome let out a soundless cry and pointed at Rin, but the Asian girl instantly clamped a hand over her mouth with a startled expression when she realized that her voice was gone. So, instead of shouting, the teenager darted forward and pulled Rin away.

The switch had been thrown: Rue's long hair instantly blasted towards the sky and the ringing silence intensified.

Rue slowly lifted both of her hands as her hair billowed around with the current of power exploding around her body: above her right hand, a small ball of iridescent white flames ignited; above her left, a ball of water swirled out of the air and condensed into a shimmering orb of liquid that radiated white-hot multicolored light. Her back arched a little as an enormous pair of ethereal wings exploded out of her back in a spray of lightning.

Then, as the intensity of her power hit the top of its peak, Rue looked at the earth monster and said one word.

"Die," she whispered, voice echoing on the wind.

Everyone watched in amazement as she spun around like a dancer and swung the hand holding the water at the demon's feet: the moment that small orb landed, a massive waterfall exploded out of the ground with an impact that shuddered the earth beneath everyone's feet. When the reversed tsunami stretched magnificently above the beast's enormous head, Rue flung her hand back down towards the ground and the water smashed around the monster's legs. Immediately lifting her foot, the girl generated energy in her leg before slamming her foot down on the ground: a wall of ice instantly erupted from the toe of her dress shoe, surging across the field in roaring wave of glittering blue crystals.

The beast was instantly frozen to the ground when the ice hit the water around its legs.

Once the monster was unable to move, Rue flawlessly spun around again—long silver-hair fanning around her as she threw the ball of fire.

The roaring flames immediately encircled the beast around its legs where the ice was: with a terrifying look of finality on her face, Rue deftly lifted her hands and held them out with her palms facing the ground in parallel synchronicity. Her companions watched in awe as she slowly lifted her arms and flung them towards the sky, arching her back as her ghostly wings spread wide: the girl's long hair was immediately blasted backward in the fiery wind that ripped through the fields. The fire immediately responded to the girl's actions by spiraling up around the demon and entrapping him in a twister made that pure, iridescent flames: the monster let out a metallic screech, but the blaze didn't stop swirling around it. Still standing on the tips of her toes with her back arched to the sky, Rue twisted her tiny hands together in a flash and forced the fiery prison to fall onto the demon.

The monstrosity cried out in pain as the flames began to crush it to death, and the metallic screeches rapidly became more and more agonized until they finally choked out and the creature died. Bringing her arms down after a long moment of waiting on her toes with her back arched, Rue turned to the flames that were threatening to burn the fields to ash. The girl stretched her uninjured arm out over the fire, gently blowing out a breath of icy air. However, her breath—no matter how gentle or small or looked—flattened the grass in the fields with ice snuffed out the wildfires like candles.

A second later, sound returned to the world with a thunderous impact and everyone rubbed their ringing ears.

"Wow…" Kagome whispered after a long moment of silence.

"That was impressive," Sango stated quietly with a look of extreme admiration. "I think you're the first living being to have ever truly frightened me."

"Agreed," Miroku breathed, looking a little pale as he clasped his lecherous hands behind his back.

"You were amazing!" Rin cried, smiling up at her proudly.

"My Lord?" Jaken whispered, glancing up at Sesshomaru's shocked expression with a look of surprise.

The demon lord felt stunned as he gazed at the small, fragile-looking girl with her curtain of long silver hair. He was utterly and absolutely shocked to the core—for the first time in his life—as he gazed at those entrancing golden eyes of hers. He'd thought that he'd had figured her out, and the fact that he hadn't astounded him: the one girl he had believed to be just like any other pathetic human in the world, the one girl who such an incredible voice that even the birds stopped to listen to her songs, the one girl who had the ability to tell good—yet very confusing—stories was now standing in front of him as someone who seemed to be totally different from the one girl he'd taken for granted.

Where had he gone wrong in his observation?

Rue glanced up at Sesshomaru and met his golden eyes just as he was wondering this. They stared at each other for a long moment as the breeze ruffled through their nearly-identical silver hair. Suddenly, the girl's golden eyes suddenly became huge and she staggered back a step, clutching her chest with both of her hands as she let out a shaking gasp of pain. Something inside of her chest began to crack like a pane of glass as she looked up at the star-filled sky with a frightened expression, muscles trembling violently when the cracking slowly stretched throughout her entire body.

The girl felt as though she were going to break apart…

_Rue,_ Ria whispered weakly. _I think we're about to die…_

_I know, Ria…_ the young girl replied. _I know..._

The moment she finished the statement, something within Rue's heart shattered.

Her eyes became blank as the life in them dispersed, and she began to fall backwards in what felt like slow motion: her empty golden eyes stared vacantly at the sky as her vision flickered, and her waist-length hair billowed around her frame like a cloud of molten platinum as the world tilted. Her arms slowly stretched out toward the sky—seeming to be calling to the heavens as her clothes billowed around her. When Rue's lifeless body finally slammed into the grass of the field, her hands seemed to ricochet a little as her hair fell across her limp form like a blanket of silver.

And through it all, the girl's golden eyes continued to stare ahead unseeingly… out at nothing.

In that moment, the world had slowed down to a near halt... as though time were trying to burn this horrifying event into the folds of history.

Darkness had captured Rue's heart... and now it threatened to never let her go…


	13. Chapter 12: Unloved Remains

**Chapter Twelve: Unloved Remains**

"I have heard of something happening like this once before, I believe," Kaede stammered, hurriedly placing bowls and plates of different fluids onto the floor around Rue's body. Her golden eyes had remained open until the woman had closed them with gentle fingertips, but she was barely breathing and her heart was beating very, very slowly. "It's not very common!"

Rue was currently lying in the woman's hut with her long hair spread out around her body: despite the fact that her features were very delicate and her long hair shone like living starlight, the sight of her ashen face would have given anybody a terrible feeling in their stomach. A beautiful girl—with a life that was so full of amazing possibilities—was lying near death.

It was a sight that could make weaker-hearted people feel ill.

"She's not breathing! She's not breathing!" Rin shrieked, struggling to get out of Sango's arms. "Make her better, please!"

"I can only try, child," Kaede replied, throwing a hasty glance at the little girl. "Everyone will have to wait outside while I perform the ritual... but one of ye must stay and help Miharu Tachibana find her way back to the world of the living."

"Help her back to the world of the living?" Sango asked, brown eyes sharpening with worry. "What do you mean?"

"Someone must go into the same soulless state she's in, enter her body, and find her soul from within the underworld before she dies," Kaede grimly explained, lighting incense to place around the girl's body as well. "Something like this only happens to those whose souls become disconnected from their bodies: it rarely ever happens, but it is a deadly ailment."

"You mean she's dead?!" Shippo cried, then burst into tears right along with Rin. "Rue can't die! She can't die!"

"She is not dead yet, but she is very near it; she cannot remain this way or she will die without a doubt," Kaede stated in a grave tone of voice, lifting her head looking at all of them with a fierce brown eye. "Who will be the one to go after her? The person needs to have a soul that is strong enough to make the journey there, and then make it back with their sanity still intact. Be absolutely certain that you can live with the consequences before you decide: traveling into the mind of another person is an experience that the faint of heart should never undergo because ye will inadvertently witness their memories."

"I guess—" Kagome immediately began to say.

"What must be done?" Sesshomaru inquired simply, cutting Kagome off as he came through the doorway.

"No way are you doing it, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha snapped instantly, jumping to his feet. "You'll get her killed!"

"Maybe it is best that he goes…" Kaede murmured pensively.

"What?!" Kagome gasped. "Whose side are you on, Kaede-sensei?"

"Nobody's," the woman replied evenly, shooting the girl a reproachful look. "I only speak the truth. He is a full demon and much stronger than any of us here. We need someone of a strong soul."

"Just talk me through whatever needs to be done, human," Sesshomaru stated icily. "I do not wish to waste time."

"Just lie here, then," Kaede instructed, eyes becoming hard because of the demon's lack of kindness. "The rest of you will have to wait outside. Miroku, I think I will need your help as well to create a spirit barrier since you are a monk who serves the Light. We don't want their souls flying off anyplace they don't need to be going."

"Yes, Kaede," Miroku murmured with a nod, sitting down on the other side of Rue's body while Sesshomaru stretched himself out between the girl and the priestess. He positioned his body in the same way that Rue's was lying.

"Now, just close ye eyes and let all of ye thoughts disappear," Kaede instructed as she sat down with her legs folded beneath her. "Your mind needs to be blank in order for your soul to find its way to hers. Search for her with your own soul; your ears and eyes will not help ye much in the world ye will be going to."

The incense and burning liquids filled his nose as he closed his eyes and cleared his mind.

Only one thought refused to go away: the fact that he was surrounded by humans—the lowest of all intelligent creatures.

Clearing his mind, he focused on his breathing instead of everything else. That's when he heard the woman and the monk beginning to hum under their breaths as they clasped their hands together and prayed. Not wanting to think of them, Sesshomaru tuned his hearing to listen to Rue's body. Her shell was barely even breathing, so slowly in and out that it seemed as though she wasn't alive at all. He knew that the girl wasn't inside her body anymore.

Something was missing... something important.

She was no longer the girl he knew, and he had to remember that in order to find the one he was looking for. The solidity of that one, simple conclusion suddenly had him slipping into nothingness and falling into darkness: the connection he'd had to his body had snapped. As the demon dove down into the endless void, he felt a darkness that stirred something in his soul.

He, the dog-demon Sesshomaru, felt fear rippling through him as the darkness engulfed his world.

_"So, you've come then?" _a startlingly familiar voice asked, speaking in a gently lilting tone as his form turned right-side up.

His silver hair cascaded back down around his torso after his feet hit a dark surface that he couldn't see.

Raising his golden eyes to look around, he spotted her for the very first time: she was sitting forlornly on a dark stone that was polished like black marble. One slender knee was resting higher than the other as one slender arm draped across it. Her iridescent white hair was flowing gracefully around her face in gentle curls, cascading down her back in extremely wavy locks. Her sky blue eyes seemed to blaze like individual fires, and her body was glowing the with the same pale blue color.

Her eyes were a little troubled and sad, but a childish playfulness covered it up almost perfectly.

_"Who are you?"_ Sesshomaru warily called, hand twitching as he readied his acid grip in case the girl proved to be a threat.

_"My name is Ria D'Harana,"_ she replied gently, smiling at him._ "I'm the one trapped inside your girl."_

"_The human isn't 'my girl',_" Sesshomaru retorted, eyes becoming colder than two shards of ice.

_"To you she isn't, but she will always be 'your girl' in her own eyes,"_ Ria giggled, smiling even wider as she leapt from her perch. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that her red and white kimono barely covered her shoulders, and her red Haori pants flared out around her bare ankles. The outfit was so uncommon that it had Sesshomaru shaking his head.

"_You know Rue then,"_ the demon stated quietly. "_If what you claim is true, you have talked to her."_

"_Yes, I have talked to her,"_ Ria acknowledge with a nod, arctic blue eyes instantly becoming solemn again. _"However, I have a feeling that she and I will no longer be here much longer. Her life is fading fast."_

_"That's why I am here,"_ Sesshomaru snapped. "_She needs her soul back inside her body, so I have come to retrieve it."_

_"It's not that simple,_" Ria whispered, looking down at the ground.

_"Explain."_ Sesshomaru hissed, running out of patience. The sadness that Ria had been trying to cover up was revealed when tears began to fill her pale blue eyes: they slowly began spilling down her cheeks like diamonds as she finally met his gaze.

"_There's nothing here to find,"_ Ria told him brokenly, shocking him when she started to cry. _"Her soul shattered because of all the pain she was keeping hidden inside her heart... it all became too much for her to handle, so she gave up."_

"_What do you mean hrt doul shattered?"_ he asked slowly, trying to swallow the news about Rue by turning away.

"_I can see you're really torn up about this,"_ Ria snapped irritably, furiously wiping her eyes before planting her hands on her hips and cocking them to the side. _"I'm being serious about this! If she remains this way, then she will die—and on top of that, if she dies then I will, too! And just for the record—I don't feel like dying yet!"_

"_Then help me find her,"_ Sesshomaru retorted, trying not to notice that she looked like an identical version of Rue: her hair color and slender build was the same, along with the stubborn attitude and the extremely tiny stature. Memories about the night he'd unintentionally terrified Miharu came flooding back into his mind, and he had to turn away from Ria once again.

_"When are you going to get what I'm trying to tell you?! There's no possibly way to find her because she shattered_!" Ria angrily shouted, pronouncing each individual syllable of the word so she could gets the meaning of it through his skull and into his brain: in all honesty, Ria secretly believed that Rue had been very wrong to place him so high in her thoughts.

_"I can understand you just fine, demon, but that doesn't mean she's dead yet," _Sesshomaru snapped, turning on her completely as he hovered over her small form with a dark look in his golden eyes._ "She's still here, even if she's in pieces."_

Ria was just as annoying as Rue, only lacking a lot of the silence.

_"Okay, first off, my name is Ria Primrose D'Harana—and second, if you can't say my name then at least show the last princess of her kind some courtesy by acknowledging the fact that she's a fox demon,"_ Ria snapped, not at all affected by the death glare he shot her in response. "_I will never be one of you regular lower-class demons: I am the only remaining heir to the most powerful kingdom ever to exist on this planet. Compared to you, a demon who owns a few small and rural villages, I am of the highest royalty and I would like to be treated with respect! Rue and I are the last two princesses of our individual kinds, so stop being so irritable! Anyway, getting down to business…"_

Placing her hands together, Ria closed her eyes and focused her energy, letting it stretch out toward Rue's presence: there wasn't much left of it, but the power still drew the energy out of her and trailed off into darkness—heading away from them in six different directions. Each trail slowly morphed into a different color: yellow, indigo, orange, black, violet, and red.

_"What is this?"_ Sesshomaru demanded, narrowing his eyes at the trails.

_"These trails are pointing to each piece of her soul. It's up to you to choose which one you wish to go after first,"_ Ria instructed, turning to the demon and motioning for him to choose a path. "_Don't take your time, though: we're sort of on a tight schedule here."_

Sesshomaru looked down at all of the paths that disappeared into the darkness around them. To him, each one looked lighter than the next—and the lightest in hue was the yellow path. It looked like the sunlight on a bright and happy day.

_"We take this one,"_ he stated, pointing to the yellow path.

Ria nodded as the two of them began walking into the darkness together. They didn't speak to each other except for Ria's occasional questions: Sesshomaru tried to ignore how much the two females were alike, but the thought kept sneaking into his thoughts every time the girl spoke. Every time he answered one of her questions with a half-hearted response, Ria would remember how those simple answers had made Rue's tormented heart feel. Her blue eyes lowered to the ground in dismay.

His presence had somehow brought the girl out of the mist of sorrow she'd been lost in.

They traveled over many admittedly-weird terrains in the world of souls, watching as the orbs of other lost souls bobbed around pointlessly through the air. However, when they approached a giant doorway and passed through it to the other side, the world around them changed instantly—as though it were melting away to reveal the real world it had really been hiding. The sun was shining brightly here, and the air felt warm and beautiful like a spring day after a refreshing rain.

The yuck part? The yellow trail abruptly ended at their feet.

"_Well, that's not good,_" Ria stated, nervously glancing down at the place where the trail hung in the air: there was obviously nowhere left to go. Sesshomaru ignored the trail and walked to the edge of the ledge to look over the side, but he raised an eyebrow when he saw tat the world ended completely. It didn't go any further, and really it looked as though the two of them were stand on a floating piece of rock and looking down into the sky. "_Now what do we do?_"

"_You are not much help,"_ Sesshomaru noted, glancing at her with an annoyed expression.

"_That's why I asked you what to do,"_ Ria snorted, giving him a helpless shrug. "_I don't really have much help to give."_

"_Just jump already!"_ a bubbly voice laughed: out of nowhere, a small child rushed past them and leapt into the sky with her arms spread. She was wearing a bright yellow dress with pink ribbons tied to the front, and her shoulder-length silver hair was pulled into pigtails: her voice was extremely high and childlike, and she sounded full of innocence. The golden-eyed little girl landed on a floating rock, then jumped again, and again—traveling farther and farther out into the floating rock field.

_"Please tell me you see that too…"_ Ria whispered, pointing in dumbfounded shock at the laughing child.

_"It's her,"_ Sesshomaru said quietly, leaping after the child in a flash.

_"Hey, Rue! __Hold up a second!_" Ria called, darting after him. _"Jeez, kiddo, you need to sit down and take a breather."_

_"I can't sit down!" _the little girl piped back, stopping on a floating rock not far ahead; however, despite the fact that she'd stopped jumping around, the little girl continued to pace in circles on the rock. WhenRia and Sesshomaru landed beside her, she grinned up at them with cheerful yellow eyes and blinked in fascinated amazement. "_I have to keep moving!"_

_"Why?"_ Ria asked with a skeptical frown.

_"Because I don't want to disappear!"_ the little girl chirped, bouncing up and down in a jogging position. "_I can feel myself slowly starting to disappear every time I stop, and it's really scary, so if you want to play with me then keep jumping!"_

The mini-me version of Rue was about to take off again,but Sesshomaru snatched the back of the little girl's dress and lifted her into the air: he held her high above his head so she had to look down into his eyes.

_"Don't you want to go back to Rue?"_ the demon quietly asked; when the child stopped struggling, her form suddenly flickered like an old movie—as though she wasn't really there._ "Don't you want her to keep living?"_

"_Of course I do, but…"_ the little girl murmured curiously, tiny legs dangling limply in the air. _"Well, she hasn't been close to me since she first found out that she was different from all the other kids at school. Then, for the last couple of weeks she got really, really close to me—closer than she ever was before she drifted away. I remember that she always used to think about you, and then she'd be happy even though she didn't really know it. It's because of you: you make her happy."_

_"You're her Happiness."_ Ria stated in matter-of-fact tone.

"_Yeah, I was, but not anymore; she's disappearing and she won't listen to me,"_ Little Rue whispered, smiling happily even as the tears welled up in her eyes._ "I can't be a part of her anymore. She chose to remain sad... so she'll fade sad, too."_

"_You are part of her soul,"_ Sesshomaru slyly pointed out. _"A big part of the decision is still yours."_

"_It is?"_ the little girl gasped, looking at him as a bit of hope returning to her big, sparkling yellow eyes.

_"Whether she likes it or not, you make up a vital part of Rue's mind, so you can return to her,"_ Ria agreed, placing a tomy hand on Sesshomaru's arm and smiling up at the girl. The little girl glanced at Ria for a long moment, but then a blindingly radiant smile lit up her face... and all of a sudden, the little girl wasn't looking so transparent.

"_Now I can see why you two make her happy,_" Little Rue giggled, then she leaned forward and kissed Sesshomaru directly on his nose in her upside-down position before disappearing in a flurry of sparkling blue lights and swirling into the sky.

"_Aww! That was so cute!"_ Ria instantly giggled, grinning widely; however, she awkwardly rubbed her neck when Sesshomaru sent another glare at her. As they two of them turned around, the floating rocks shifted and bumped into each other as they moved to form a bridge back to the doorway that they had come through._ "Okay, this place is weird."_

After walking through the doors and enduring a long walk through a desert-like place as they followed the orange trail, the two of them approached a giant crater in the earth. Moving to the edge and staring down into the crater, they both spotted a form that was sitting in the darkness, curled up in a ball. The form didn't move a muscle, even when Ria called out to it.

_"Hey, you!"_ the demon girl cried. _"Are you another part of Rue's soul?"_

_"Yeah, I guess…"_ the form the end of the glowing orange trail called back: Ria glanced at Sesshomaru, but when he didn't move the girl rolled her eyes slid down into the hole on her feet. The demon lord followed her a moment later.

"_Well, you need to return to her so she doesn't die,"_ the demon girl shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth._ "Okay?!"_

_"She doesn't want me back,"_ the form answered dejectedly. "_Who would want to listen to me anyway?_"

_"Which one are you?"_ Sesshomaru warily asked.

_"I'm her Confidence,"_ the girl whispered back, not uncurling from her little ball.

_"That explains a lot,"_ Ria snorted, rolling her eyes._ "Is Rue not feeling confident or something?" _

"_She's never had much confidence,"_ the form sighed, standing up and turning around to face them. This version of Rue was obviously a few years younger than the real version, because her silver hair stopped just beneath her shoulder blades and had been braided back with a yellow ribbon: she was wearing a pair of half-moon glasses, and she was clad in a dull orange shirt with faded blue-jeans. Her golden eyes were downcast, making her look much smaller than she really was.

_"You look a little young,"_ Ria noted with a cocked eyebrow,

_"That's because this is what Rue looked like when she first lost faith in me completely," _she stated, pushing the glasses up her nose with a solemn expression. "_You see, almost all of her life Rue has been self conscious, but after she met Tsuruuki Takahashi, my strength began to grow until I seemed to be bursting with hope and possibility. But then, Tsuruuki almost killed her and I was nearly crushed out of existence for two years. Recently I began feeling her bond with me growing the way it had with Tsuruuki, and thus I began growing in power again. The last thing I remember was her bond with me being crushed again right after she saw Sesshomaru: I was sent flying down here so powerfully that my body made this crater."_

"_What else are you gonna cause?"_ Ria demanded, glaring at him reproachfully.

_"You need to return to her,"_ Sesshomaru stated, ignoring Ria's inquiry.

_"I just told you that she won't listen to me!"_ Confidence muttered._ "I can't reach her anymore, so I've given up."_

_"Well, you could use a confidence boost,"_ Ria snorted with an amused glance.

_"Funny,"_ Confidence snapped, flicking her braid over her shoulder. _"I'm sorry that I'm not as strong as you."_

"_You could be as strong as I am if you actually chose to put more confidence in yourself,"_ Ria retorted, finally losing her patience and stomping off with her fists clenched in irritation._ "I mean, come on! Get serious for once!"_

_"If you don't return, then you will die here too,"_ Sesshomaru informed her, taking a step forward. _"Do you want that?"_

"_No, but what can I do? I can't even speak up for myself, speak my mind, or tell anyone how I feel. The world makes me feel so small and afraid that I lock up in fright before I can even try,"_ Confidence replied as anguish touched her eyes, showing up through her glasses. _"I couldn't survive out there anyway—you saw better than anyone else, remember?" _

"_Stop crying,"_ Sesshomaru snapped, making the younger version of Rue twitch in surprise. _"It gets you nowhere. If you keep telling yourself things like that, then you really will get nowhere in your life. You have to keep moving forward and have confidence in yourself, to believe and put enough faith in your own determination in order to get stronger."_

For a long moment, she merely stared at the ground with furrowed brows.

"You know what? I thought Rue would let her sadness swallow her," the younger version of Rue whispered, turning her stunning golden eyes on him and holding his gaze for the first time during the entire conversation. "However, I won't let her choose that path any longer: I'm going to keep trying to get through until she listens to my voice again. Wish me luck."

"That's my girl!" Ria proudly chuckled, smiling at the silver-haired girl with a triumphant expression from her spot on edge of the crater; the younger version of Rue started to climb out of the hole, then stopped and turned around to face him. A smile slowly spread across her face, lighting up her features as she cocked her head to the side: the sadness slowly began washing away from her eyes. "I'm not confident enough to say how I feel about you just yet, but one day I will be!"

That said, the girl leapt up and kissed Sesshomaru on the cheek before vanishing in an explosion of blue lights.

The demon lord stared up into the sparkles as they disappeared, lost in his thoughts.

"_Sheesh,_" Ria muttered when he finally joined her. "_You're just Mr. Popular with all the ladies around here, aren't ya?_"

_"Jealousy isn't a positive thing,"_ he tartly pointed out.

_"Gloating isn't all that good either!"_ Ria retorted with a scowl, folding her arms as she pouted. _"Just pick your stupid path already! I'm getting tired of standing still."_

Sesshomaru looked down at the remaining paths: indigo, violet, black, and red.

Red was beginning to fade, so he pointed to that particular path and started down it. Ria didn't respond to his choice as she started walking, following the red path to the next shattered piece of Rue's soul. The crater filled in as they began walking across it, becoming even ground again. However, even though they'd gotten the other pieces to go back to her, it didn't mean for a second that Rue would take them back. Ultimately, it was up to her to make that decision.

**TXXXXXT**

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Rin mewled, squeezing a fistful of Shippo's red fur for reassurance. "Do you think they'll save her and bring her back home?"

"I hope so! I don't want Rue to die!" Shippo bawled, and the two of them started crying again.

"Do not fret, children!" Jaken exclaimed, beating his chest. "I know that Lord Sesshomaru will rescue our little Rue and bring her back to us! She'll be safe and sound like always, you'll see!"

"That's only if he can, Jaken…" Inuyasha dejectedly pointed out, staring at the ground with a sick look on his face.

"Why you little—! I'm trying to reassure the little ones!" the imp roared in his squeaky voice, using his staff to knock the demon boy across the head. Inuyasha didn't even twitch under the harsh blow. "Don't be cruel, you pessimistic half-breed!"

"Master Jaken, what if he's right and Lord Sesshomaru can't find her?!" Rin cried, face falling into her hands as she started to wail; Shippo bawled with his paws in his lap, crying right along with her. "What if he can't bring her back?"

"No, you guys—that's not true at all! He'll find and bring her back, so don't worry—but Rue really isn't that far away," Kagome murmured gently to the crying children before pointing to the center of their chests one by one. "Just remember that no matter what happens, she'll always be in your heart. Right there, where you'll always be able to love her."

"Miss Rue sang a song that had the same thing," Rin sniffled in surprise, rubbing her eyes before staring up at the girl. "I still remember the words, but she sang them in such a pretty voice that I don't think I could ever do it like she did."

"I wasn't kidding though," Inuyasha cut in again, looking up at them with haunted golden eyes. "I've heard stories about people who've ended up like Miharu... but very few of them ever made it back."

"What do you mean?" Sango asked fearfully, clutching at the front of her dress as a strange pang of sickening fear and alarm seared through her chest. "You don't think she'll really die, do you? I've actually become fond of her... I... I honestly feel like it'll be just as bad as losing Kohaku if she dies on me. How come those people never made it back?"

"Because none of the people who died simply left their bodies," Inuyasha whispered, closing his eyes in defeat. "They died because their souls shattered from the effort of constantly restraining some particularly powerful emotion. If a soul shatters, there's not much anyone can do to put it back together because the shattered consciousness must want to return. If the soul doesn't want to, then the body dies. That's what I heard from the stories my mother told me."

"But she'll want to come back!" Rin cried in stubborn protest. "Rue loves us! She cares about us!"

"Of course she does," Sango gently reassured the little girl, but there was a deeply troubled look in her brown eyes. She, Kagome, and Inuyasha all glanced at each other over the heads of the children and wondered simultaneously, _but does she care enough to come back and deal with the pain that being alive causes her?_

Kagome finally stood up and and took a peek inside the hut to see what was going on: Kaede and Miroku had their heads bowed, praying intently while Sesshomaru and Rue lay side by side in identical positions, breathing slowly as though the two of them were asleep. The only noticeable difference was in Rue: her skin was slowly turning ashen, and her breathing was coming much weaker and shallower than before.

"Sesshomaru, don't you dare let that poor girl die," she whispered worriedly. "Please, hurry and bring her home to us."

Sesshomaru's arm twitched when she spoke, and Kagome hopefully stiffened from her place by the door: however, nothing else changed aside from that and she lowered her head in distress. Rue's condition had begun to get worse in the short time that she'd been in the hut: her face was so white that she didn't look alive anymore, and her skin looked very cold. Kagome knew from all of her experiences in the Feudal Era that a person's body temperature usually began to drop when their skin began to lose its color. They had been waiting for nearly six hours, and things had only gotten worse.

Kagome buried her face in her hands.

_If things don't change soon,_ she thought in silent anguish. _Rue-chan will die..._

**TXXXXXT**

_"I can't keep going..."_ Ria panted, finally coming to a halt and jerking her wrist out of Sesshomaru's hard grip._ "Let me go."_

"_Why?"_ Sesshomaru asked bluntly.

"I already told you why!" Ria snapped, shaking her head with a dismayed expression on her face. "I'm tired of walking, and I can't make it around those mazes, so you'll have to find the next one alone! We're running out of time, so hurry up! All you need to do is follow the red trail; it should lead you straight to her!"

Sesshomaru accepted her decision to stay behind and silently continued on, leaving her sitting on the ground before following the trail of red light that twisted through the maze he had begun to travel through. With each turn, the red trail became lighter and lighter—and he slowly began to wonder if it would vanish before he found the piece of Rue's soul.

However, it suddenly came to an end and a woman's singing voice began to float around his ears.

The melody was soft and beautiful, but the words were so familiar that he nearly lost his balance for a moment: it was the lullaby that Rue had sang to Rin. Sesshomaru suddenly found his body moving towards the source of the mesmerizing voice against his will, and after turning another corner he spotted a woman lying out across a stone bench, staring out with sad but dreamy golden eyes toward the light blue sky above. Her ankles were crossed as they hung off the edge of the bench.

Her pink dress was long, and it flowed down her body before cascading below her ankles and hanging off of the bench.

Her shining silver hair was much, much longer than Rue's current waist-length hair: her tresses were lying in soft curls around her head and pooling over the edge of the bench. They had slid onto the ground and threaded into the flowers nearly three feet away: her hair was even longer than Sesshomaru's. A few butterflies fluttered around her as she softly sang '_you'll be in my heart'_ without a care in the world. All in all, the woman looked seven years older than the real Rue.

However, the same delicate features and thin figure were resting inside her beautiful face.

_"You made it through the maze, I see,"_ the woman sighed, opening her glittering yellow eyes after finishing her song.

_"Yes, I did,"_ he answered, resisting the urge to follow her voice. _"And you are?"_

_"You don't know me? That breaks my hear since you brought me back to life the first time you ever touched her," _the young woman replied, slowly sitting up and setting her small hands on her lap. _Rue never believed she could love anyone again after what Tsuruuki Takahashi did to her, but then… she met you, and without wanting to, she fell in love anyway. Believe me when I say that she loved her mother and siblings dearly, but that love never changed until you came along."_

"_She…"_ Sesshomaru tried to say, but then trailed off in surprise. For the first time in his life, the demon lord was speechless: he'd never been stopped in his tracks by the mentioning of something like this, had never felt his mind go blank with shock; and the most surprising part was that the cause had been the fact that he'd never seen this side of Rue's heart before.

"_She needs me back?"_ the beautiful woman finished, voice sounding light and feathery. "_I know, but she has denied me. She doesn't wish to feel my emotion anymore, probably more-so than the others. She's chosen to accept the sadness that surrounds her like a cloud, but pretty soon there won't be enough space for that emotion. She'll disappear for good."_

_"She'll die,"_ he stated, feeling the reality completely sinking in. "_Miharu Tachibana will die."_

_"Yes,"_ the woman replied with a sad expression as she gazed at him._ "What will you do when she's gone?"_

_"Nothing,"_ Sesshomaru said quickly, turning away from her and showing her his back. "_What happens to her does not concern me, nor does it bother me."_

"_It doesn't?_" Love whispered questioningly; when he wouldn't answer her, the woman sighed in defeat as sadness touched her sweet voice. "_I really hope you can find someone who you will love you like this girl does someday: she wants to know you care about her more than anything else in the world; it was the last thing I felt from her before we were torn apart."_

"_She wastes her time trying to woo me,"_ the demon sneered.

"_She tries because she cares,"_ the woman pointed out. _"Cares more than you know, and more than she will let you know because of her fear of being rejected. Do you realize that for me to return to her, and have her accept me back, her love must be accepted? Before you say anything rash, be aware that Love isn't always just one particular type. It can come in different forms other than the romantic kind. Do you know that she hasn't had a single friend in her entire life?"_

_"Explain,"_ Sesshomaru instructed, turning back to her as curiosity unwillingly touched his heart.

"_All of her life, Rue was tormented by those around her because she didn't look like a normal Japanese girl," _the woman quietly explained, smiling at him with shimmering violet eyes. _"Tsuruuki Takahashi befriended her, but he only did it so he could hurt her and gain popularity among his peers. You were one of the first true friends that Rue Rosemerry Thompson ever had the chance of knowing: you, Rin, and Jaken all accepted her instantly, even though she was different. You should feel proud to have given her that one simply luxury... especially since she was deprived of so many others for so long._"

_"I see,"_ Sesshomaru said monotonously; even though he could see Rue in that amazing smile, he didn't answer.

"_Will you take responsibility for being her first friend? Will you accept her love and her friendship?_" Love asked, rising to her feet and walking over to him with a somber expression on her face. The young woman's silver hair hung down just below her calves and swirled around as she placed a hand on his shoulder. Sesshomaru thought about her words as she stared at him with hesitant golden eyes: Rue thought of him as a friend... her _first_ friend... and Rin had quickly become her little sister.

How was that possible?

Who would waste so much effort in an attempt to get to know him?

No one had ever called him a friend... no one... until her.

_"She… is,"_ Sesshomaru began. "_A friend. She is a friend."_

"_She loves you,_" the woman whispered, smiling as the sadness in her eyes disappeared instantly. She gently leaned up to kiss him on the hollow above his collar bone. _"Most of all, though, she loves what she knows is resting inside your heart."_

The older version of Rue slowly leaned away and folded her hands before disappearing in a flurry of sparkling blue lights, just like all the others had. The butterflies slowly began to fade, vanishing as the maze around him disappeared: when he turned around, there was only a straight road leading back the way he had come through the field of flowers.

Making his way down it, he headed back to where Ria was waiting for him.

_"Did you find her?"_ the fox demon asked, lifting her head out of her hands as he approached.

_"Yes,"_ Sesshomaru replied absently.

"_You sound… different,"_ Ria noted instantly. "_What happened? Did you get kissed again?"_

"_No,"_ He replied truthfully: he hadn't gotten kissed… well, not on the mouth anyway.

"They're starting to fade faster," Ria stated urgently as she brought out the remaining trails again. "We need to hurry."

"Then let's hurry," Sesshomaru said simply, heading off into the darkness with Ria Solaris following close behind.

"_We're lost,"_ Ria stated, glancing around into the deep fog. The black trail had led them here, but now it was gone and it was utterly impossible to see anything within three feet of them._ "Got any good ideas?"_

_"No,"_ Sesshomaru replied as he started moving forward again; however, Ria pulled him to a halt.

"_Don't go walking off into that fog!" _she cried, face suddenly becoming stressed and pale. "_If we get separated, there's no telling how much time we'll be wasting trying to find each other again. We can't afford that right now!" _

"_Then keep up,"_ Sesshomaru retorted, grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind him—refusing to be gentle.

_"What the hell do you want?"_ a voice that was thick with anger snapped at the two of them as they continued moving through the fog. _"This is my domain, not yours!"_

_"Are you a piece of Rue's soul?"_ Ria called out impatiently. _"If you are, then let's get this over with quickly because we don't have much time left."_

"_Don't say that fool's name around me!"_ the voice instantly shouted. _"She has no use for me, so I don't want to have anything to do with her!"_

_"Oh, how awfully terrible! Oh, dear—please tell us how we can help you!"_ Ria called with mock helplessness as she rolled her eyes. _To her, this particular routine was getting old fast._

"_Don't get all sarcastic with me, brat!"_ the voice hissed._ "I'll lay you flat on your furry ass!"_

_"Jeez, attitude much?"_ Ria retorted, blinking in surprise._ "What's got your panties in such a bunch?"_

_"I'm her Anger, what else?"_ the enraged voice roared. _"Stop asking stupid questions, bitch!"_

"_So… you're biting my head off because of something she's done?"_ Ria quipped, pulling Sesshomaru along as she walked toward the owner of the voice. The fog cleared up a little bit, and a silhouette slowly began to take shape out of the stark whiteness. They watched as a female form slowly rolled over on top a rock and sat up, leaning on her arms.

_"No!" the girl shouted. "I'm biting your head off because of what I've done! Why aren't you getting this?"_

_"Okay, okay, my bad,"_ Ria instantly tried to soothe. "_Might I ask what it is that you've done that's so bad?"_

"_Simple, I exist! If I didn't exist inside Rue, my negativity wouldn't be waiting to poison her!" _the girl snapped, and both of them noticed that an unbelievably dark torment was twisting itself into her words. "_Anger is what poisons the mind! It leads to hate and darkness! If I didn't exist, none of this would be threatening her! It wouldn't be causing the agonizing grief and anguish that's eating away at her soul! All of the sadness she's been feeling was originally created by me!"_

Ria and Sesshomaru finally came into view, taking in the girl before them with looks of surprise: this version was the closest to Rue that they'd seen up until now. The only differences were the facts that she was wearing a completely black version of her school uniform, there was a much darker reddish-gold color tinting her yellow irises, there were shadows under her eyes, her white hair had lost its iridescent sheen, and her skin was so incredibly _pale_ that it bordered on translucency.

This girl looked like the living reincarnation of darkness itself.

_"So, let me get this straight. You're mad at something that has two utterly different sides to it?"_ Ria inquired in a slow voice, staring at the girl in disbelief. _"You know what? You shouldn't focus on only the negatives that happen life, because then you'll always be mad—even when the good things happen."_

_"How can anger have a positive side to it?"_ the dark version of Rue snapped, throwing her hands into the air before turning away from them. Ria watched as the girl plopped back down onto the rock in an Indian-style position.

_"A negative anger would be getting angry because you didn't win a contest, or feeling mad because you didn't get invited to a special event," _Ria explained, letting her voice smooth out to become gentle and understanding. "_A positive anger would be being angry at someone who abuses an animal because that's wrong. A positive anger is created through getting angry at someone who makes fun of someone because they're different. Those are the positive sides: the way you look at anger is in a negative way. You can let your anger towards those who do wrong fuel your strength so that you can stand up to those wrongs and defend what is right. Not all anger is bad... do you understand?"_

"_How can I tell that to her?"_ the dark version of Rue asked as she slowly turned around, red-orange eyes looking thoughtful and a little brighter than before. "_She won't listen to me because she chooses not to understand."_

"_Maybe she won't, but will you let that make you angry?"_ Ria challenged, cocking an eyebrow.

The dark version of Rue glanced at the ground, thinking for a long moment.

"No way," she finally stated, jumping down from the rock; she stomped over and hugged Ria tightly before turning to the side and giving Sesshomaru a very long look. "I'll keep at it until she and I both understand it more fully, but even though Anger isn't always bad, it can still cause pride to force people apart. I'm pissed at you because I care about you: period."

After she said this, the girl planted a hard kiss on his cheek before disappearing in a shower of sparkling blue lights. The fog around them instantly melted away and revealed a dew-covered field with sunshine falling down on them from above. A few rocks were sitting around here and there, mostly in the taller parts of the grass.

Sesshomaru took the chance to sit down and think about a few things.

_"I don't think resting is a good idea right now,"_ Ria pointed out as she glanced around nervously._ "Time is kind of short."_

"_I need to think,"_ Sesshomaru said bluntly.

"_Think about what?"_ Ria urged, putting her hands on her hips as her anxiety once again began to grow. When the demon didn't answer her, Ria glared down at his smooth and collected face in affronted anger. However, when she saw something there that hadn't there before she met him, her eyes softened and she sighed: he was worried, even if it was only a little. _"I need you to promise me something."_

"_Explain,"_ Sesshomaru commanded, looking up at her.

_"You have to promise me that you won't give up,"_ Ria stated firmly. _"Promise me you won't let her die."_

Sesshomaru stared at her as she turned to stare at the ground with worried, anguished eyes. Something clicked inside his mind, and he glanced off at the two remaining trails: one indigo, the other violet. The violet one was beginning to fade. All of the last pieces had said something about a terrible pain and Rue being an inseparable combination, but was it possible...?

_"You've only known her for a couple of weeks,"_ Sesshomaru noted calmly, "_yet, already you care about her._"

_"Yes, I do,"_ Ria instantly replied, rubbing her arm with a hesitant expression. _"Miharu is like a little sister to me, but in an odd sort of way…. she's also like a part of me that I didn't really know I was missing until I met her. Now that she's almost gone, I feel like I've begun to lose that part again, and it's really… well, sad. It hurts really bad."_

Sesshomaru lowered his eyes and chuckled without a smile.

_"Since when do you laugh?"_ Ria scoffed in surprise, looking up at him with a startled expression. She slowly crawled over to sit beside him and touched his face with gentle fingertips. "_I've never heard you laugh before..."_

_"I never chose to,"_ he retorted, standing up and heading away from her; Ria shakily got up and followed him.

_"Look,"_ the demon woman suddenly whispered, pointing ahead toward the archway that they were approaching. Everything around them was black except for the hazy blue light shining from behind the small hill resting just beyond the doorway: coming toward them as they headed toward the light was a shuddering girl who had her arms wrapped around herself.

They stopped as the girl froze, head whipping around and long hair fanning out, but then the girl paused for a second: almost instantaneously, she started racing towards them. Upon closer inspection, Ria gasped in shock because the girl looked terrible: her white dress was shredded and stained by rivulets of blood that still were spilling from her left arm, her jeans jacket was ripped in several areas, her long ponytail was severely messed up, and her right sandal was broken.

_"What on earth happened to you?!"_ Ria cried, watching with enormous blue eyes as the bleeding girl stumbled up to Sesshomaru and threw her shaking arms around him. She instantly pressed her face against his chest. "_Rue?!"_

_"Please, please—help me!"_ the thoroughly thrashed girl—who looked to be only a little younger than the real version—wailed desperately. "_She's lost all of her fear! She cast me out! She's no longer afraid of Tsuruuki, or even death!"_

She looked up into the great demon's golden eyes with such terror and anguish that he didn't stop to think about his actions and wrapped his hands around her arms, staring back down at her with unreadable golden eyes.

"_You are her Fear,"_ he murmured.

_"Yes! I am the Fear that resides inside her soul, but I still know my purpose because I am not lost like the others!" _Fear cried, burying her battered face in Sesshomaru's kimono. "_I've always known my duty! The moment Tsuruuki Takahashi did this to us, I vowed to never forget why I do what I do! I've only just been cast out, so I still know why she needs me: without fear, you cannot learn to overcome the things that frighten you. You cannot grow in life, and you will never be able to overcome the challenges that life brings. I still know why I exist, and I'll only need to hear from you that you will help her, that you will make her hear our voices again, to be able to return! Please, please, Sessomaru-sama! Help her!_"

_"Take us to her,"_ Sesshomaru answered quietly.

Fear's face suddenly lost its stricken expression and her golden eyes began to glow with hope and relief. Her silver hair suddenly became smooth, clean, and glossy; her tattered clothes repaired themselves; her bruises and deep stab-wounds healed themselves; and a violet glow engulfed her body. Right before their amazed eyes, Fear became beautiful again.

"_Thank you, but please hurry! She's not too far from you now!"_ she cried, pointing toward the blue light beyond the archway only a split second before she vanished in an eruption of sparkles. Sesshomaru took off with Ria close behind, but just as they passed beneath the archway, everything they'd begun to know shattered in an instant: the world around them began to quake violently as the darkness, and everything still inside it, began to break away and disappear into nothing—looking like breaking glass as it ripped away. The archway crumbled above them, and the two barely escaped from.

"_We have to hurry, Sesshomaru! Death is coming for her, right now!"_ Ria suddenly shrieked, looking oddly pale. Her breath was coming faster than it had before, and her bright blue eyes were beginning to dull. However, as they sprinted to the top of the trembling hill they were on, both demons came to a stop and gazed at the scene in front of them in amazement. All of them had come: Happiness, Confidence, Love, Anger, and Fear were all standing together in a wide circle, holding their arms stretched out together and facing the darkness that was crashing towards them with nearly identical expressions of terror.

They were guarding the bright glowing blue sphere in the center, which was swirling and tumbling around like wind.

"Hurry!" Happiness cried loudly, voice coming out insanely high. "It's coming, and we can't hold on much longer!"

When Sesshomaru quickly approached them, Happiness and Love opened a gap for him in their arms so he could pass through and head toward the sphere. He saw her then, the girl whose soul had shattered: Rue Rosemerry Thompson. She was floating in the center of the blue light, hovering deep in the sphere with her body drawn up close—almost as though she'd fallen asleep while curled up in a ball. Above her, still fighting to hold on to the girl's hand, was another version.

This one was identical to Rue in every way except for eye and the hue of her clothes. Her school uniform was whiter than a fresh winter snow, and her eyes were a startlingly pale crystal blue—the color of unshed tears. Her delicate face had been torn into such a ripping, emotional agony that Sesshomaru actually faltered for a moment: this girl looked like someone who'd discovered that she'd lost everything and everyone she'd ever truly cared about in an unbelievably horrible way. When the tormented silver-haired girl looked up and stared deep into his eyes, her raw pain burned itself into his memory.

_"She's letting go of it all now!" _the girl cried, speaking in a voice that was buried so deep in pain that the demon in question fought the urge to unsheathe his claws and attack the source of her agony. "_I can't seem to get her to listen anymore, and she's almost ready to let go of me! Please make her listen, Sesshomaru-sama! Get her to accept us again, please! I'm begging you! Do you understand? I'm begging you! You have to save her from herself, because we can't do it alone!" _

"_You… are her Sadness,"_ he said calmly.

_"Yes, I am, but that's not important right now! I want her to live! I want to be the only emotion who can fade away forever and rest in peace!"_ the girl laughed, smiling through the tears that were beginning to stream down her face. "_Please, save Rue and make her sadness dissolve! Make me disappear, I'm begging you... but not like this! Never like this! You won't be able to do anything unless you truly want to save her! You have to desire it! Do you want it or don't you?""_

Turning back to the Rue he'd come to know, he saw she was so pale that she could have been already dead.

However, when he stretched out to test the churning winds that were swirling around her, they became angry when his hand came near and he pulled away when they lashed out. Sesshomaru gazed into the sleeping, colorless face of the girl he had met not too long ago. She'd had the nerve to glare right back at him whenever he said something to tick her off or throw her off guard, and she had allowed him, a demon, to protect her, a goddess. This incredible girl had, without an effort, touched the part of his soul that he'd never let anybody see—even when he'd fought off her attempts so many times.

She was the one who had caught him... but did he really want that?

To be tamed by a simple girl?

_"I can see why you two make up a vital part of her happiness,"_ Happiness had giggled.

"_I'm not confident enough to say how I feel about you yet, but one day I will be!"_ Confidence had exclaimed.

"_She loves you... but she loves what she knows is deep inside your heart the most,"_ Love had whispered.

"_I'm pissed at you because of how much I care about you_," Anger had stated.

"_She's not too far from you now!"_ Fear had cried.

"_Do you want it or don't you?"_ Sadness repeated quietly; tears freely began spilling down her face as she broke down into chest-wracking sobs. _"Please, Sesshomaru-Sama... don't let me fade away like this... not like this, I'm begging you..._"

Taking a deep inhale, Sesshomaru glared into the wind and growled under his breath.

"I will have what I want!" he roared, exposing his claws and tearing into the wind.

In an instant, his mind disappeared into a world of white before memories that were not his own began to take shape.

The memories of a teenage girl who had lost everything she had ever loved... over... and over... and over again.


	14. Chapter 13: Child Under Heaven's Eyes

**Chapter Thirteen: Child Under Heaven's Eyes**

_Sesshomaru winced as the glare blinded his sensitive eyes, then shook his head and looked around. _

_He was sitting in an odd contraption with odd transparent barriers on every side: beyond the barriers, he could see land speeding past at incredibly high speeds. Blinking in surprise, the demon shook his head and glanced away from the dizzying sight—only to find that there were several other people in this contraption with him. A human woman with platinum blonde hair was sitting in front of a round object, two half-grown girls with identical white bob-cuts were sitting in the seats just behind her, and directly in front of him was a little boy with messy white hair and an almost identical little girl with hair of a similar color. _

_Sesshomaru stiffened when he recognized the girl sitting beside the little boy._

_Rue Rosemerry Thompson sighed in front of him, planting her head in her hands as she stared out of the van window: they were all on __on vacation_ and making their way to a special event in Tokyo. The five of them were sitting in a rented SUV, but everyone seemed to be in high Spirits since they were all heading to a special theme park that had just opened in their late father's name. He was, after all, a King... and his best friend had been up there in the Japanese government.  


_"This is great, isn't it?" the white-haired woman asked, jerking Sesshomaru's attention away from the little girl version of Rue who was sitting in front of him. "We're going to have a blast at your father's new theme park! Although, maybe we should get some special cosmetics to cover up Sarah's new pimple first!"_

_"Excuse me?! What pimple?!" the older-looking of the two girls demanded, immediately digging in her bag with a frantic expression; Sesshomaru watched with a puzzled frown as Rue shook her head at the girl's actions before looking out the window again: she didn't look all that enthusiastic, if he didn't know any better. After the younger-looking white-haired girl named Anna reassured Sarah that their mother had been joking about the 'non-existent, festering pustule of malignant ooze' that was currently resting on the tip of her nose, they begin talking about their crazy friends' families while Rue and her twin brother, Roe, stared blankly._

_"So, here's what the entire summary of what happened," __Sarah was in the middle of saying._ "Katie's aunt sends this note back to her parents to remind them that she'll be away in Bali all next month! It said that she was going to be doing an intensive Pilates-slash-yoga retreat with Rodney Yee—" 

_"Who's Rodney Yee?" Anna chattily __interrupted._ "What kind of people would name their kid that?"

_"He's one of those stud-muffin yoga gurus," their mother answered with a small smile. "I think he trained Cindy Crawford."_

_"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sarah sighed, rolling her glittering yellow eyes. "Anyway, back to what I was saying... I heard Katie's father telling her mom that she isn't going to Bali at all—she's having a knee lift and a toe reduction, and she's establishing her alibi early so no one will suspect anything!"_

_"Toe reduction?" Roe asked, wrinkling his nose. "__Ew!_"

_"I know, right?" __Sarah stated, nodding gravely._ "She's got such huge clompers that nothing fits her feet right except sneakers! She wants to wear money shoes!" 

_"What is the point of such foolery?" Sesshomaru wondered aloud, scowling in annoyance; apparently, nobody could hear him._

_"You know, little bro—like Manillas and Choo Choo's," Anna added._

_"Manolos and Jimmy Choos, Annabelle," their mother corrected, cracking a smile._

_"Right," Sarah continued in a sinister voice. "After the toe shortening and a little heel shave, she's hoping to be able to cram her feet into stilettos."_

_"Er…" Anna murmured, seemingly at a loss for words. "That's very… interesting."_

_"Are you crazy?" Rue finally demanded, squeezing her golden eyes shut in revulsion. "It's not interesting, it's disgusting!"_

_"Oh, that's nothing compared to the other stuff, Rue-chan!" Sarah laughed, giving her an evil smile. "Her aunt's been a complete nut case ever since she moved to the United States. For instance, she has a therapist for her houseplants."_

_"A therapist for her houseplants?" their mother scoffed, gaping at her daughter when Anna burst into hysterical laughter and Roe gagged himself._

_Sesshomaru folded his arms and closed his eyes with an impatient sigh._

_"Sarah?" __Roe asked out of the blue, tiredly rubbing his big golden eyes. "W_hat did you get Aunt Rosie for her birthday?" 

_"Well, I haven't done it yet, but I think I'm going to clean the roof gutters for her," Sarah replied with a shrug. "She'd be happy to have that done, considering she's been putting the task off for seven years."_

_"Actual physical labor?" Anna asked with a shudder. "Couldn't you just get her a Hallmark card or something?"_

_"No, I can't," Sarah retorted, giving her a reproachful expression. "You know I have morals, Annabelle, and buying a cheap stuff is definitely n—"_  
_  
"LOOK OUT!" Roe suddenly cried. "MOMMY! LOOK OUT!"_

_Sesshomaru's golden eyes snapped open in time to see that the child was pointing at the road ahead of them, directing their attention to the windshield. _

_His eyes flicked to look at Rue when she jerked with a start, then flicked over to the woman as her golden eyes widened and she screamed. _

_However, the demon lord clutched onto the nearest immobile object when the woman jerked the round thing sharply to the right and the contraption jolted violently. Looking forward, he saw that the woman was trying to avoid the young man who had frozen stock-still in the center of the highway. Sesshomaru's eyes involuntarily __widened _ as a sickening weightless feeling snatched his stomach, clamping his hands down onto both sides of the chair as the woman behind the wheel lost control of the van. His eyes flashed to the humans inside the contraption and saw that the two girls in the seat behind the woman were clutching each other and letting out shrieks; the little boy behind them grabbed onto Rue's slender arm. His eyes locked on the silver-haired girl's horrified expression when she let out a squeak of terror. The demon lord grit his teeth when the car spun around, causing Rue to let out a shrill scream before clutching both sides of her seat to keep from sliding around as much. 

_His eyes flashed to the front as the woman struggled with the wheel and the two girls behind her screeched hysterically, an unseen witness that she was trying to turn it this way and that in an attempt to right the vehicle. Sesshomaru glanced outside the glass barriers and saw that as the van was swerving first towards the trees, then toward the guard-rail that blocked off a two-hundred-foot drop into a stony chasm._

_"Kids, please! Hang on to something!" the woman finally cried, gripping the steering wheel. "__I can't control it! We're going to crash, so brace yourselves!"_  


_ Roe let out another terrified wail and clutched Rue's arm even tighter._

_Sesshomaru glanced at the small, silver-haired girl sitting in front when she looked up with horrified golden eyes—watching dizzily through the spinning windshield as the SUV careened toward the woods. He saw that she closed her eyes and watched how her muscles tensed just as the front end of her mother's SUV smashed into a pine tree. Sesshomaru was prepared to deal with a crash, but what he hadn't been prepared for was the force of the impact: it jerked his neck forward so suddenly that he nearly cracked his head on the glass barrier resting next to him. He grit his teeth and let out a snarl as he dug his claws into the leather._

_For some reason, he felt horribly sick when momentum caused the van to roll. _

_He watched with horrified eyes as all five humans screamed at the top of their lungs, every single one of them being jolted violently as the car flipped over and over again—snapping their bodies around like rag dolls as the windshield and windows shattered inward and sent square chunks of safety glass flying into their faces. He locked his gaze on Rue and saw that the tiny girl was clamped onto the seat with both hands and screaming hysterically as they flipped, eyes squeezed shut and muscles completely rigid with terror. The demon couldn't close his eyes against the horrifying experience; it was too awful and sudden. All he could do was watch the fate of these lives unfold as the vehicle continued to roll downhill, smashing into trees with enough force to snap even a powerful demon's neck._

_Sarah's door was suddenly ripped off when the van smashed into another tree and went briefly airborne, but his golden eyes widened when he saw that the belt holding the young girl in place snapped off during the impact. He immediately snatched out a hand and tried to grip her arm, but his eyes slowly widened in horror when his fingers went right through her: he had almost forgotten that he wasn't actually there with them. He stomach turned cold for the first time in his life.  
_

_He had never been helpless before... but right now, all he could do was watch as the fate of Miharu's family unfolded in front of him._

_ Rue's golden eyes snapped open wide and she frantically flailed to grab a hold of her sister's arm despite the fact that the rolling van continued to slam them around. She just managed to grab the older girl's arm when they smashed into another tree and the nineteen-year-old flew out of the car with a hysterical cry._

_"SARAAAAAAAH!" Rue shrieked hysterically, bursting into wailing tears before he breath was snatched away again._

_Sesshomaru felt sick when the human girl let out a horrifying screech as she was crushed to death by the rolling van. _

_He held on as tightly as he could and watched as Rue, Roe, and Annabelle shrieked in terror with their mother as they rolled in such a horrifyingly dizzying way: the demon lost his grip and hit his head on the metal above when the van unexpectedly slammed into another tree and flipped down the hill. The demon lord flinched when a tree branch the size of a sapling suddenly impaled the metal of the SUV and stopped right in front of his face; then the vehicle flipped away in the opposite direction—sending Annabelle, the other silver-haired girl, flying out the opposite door with a hysterical screech, _

_When the car finally rolled off of a precipice, he literally could not breathe because the unexpected feeling of falling snatched the breath out of his mouth. Every single person still in the car was held suspended upside down in the air as their screams cut off, hovering weightlessly in dead silence before the front end of the car smashed into solid stone, flipped upside down, and slammed them all into the ground headfirst.__ Sesshomaru bashed his head against the ceiling again, but really… he was simply glad the horrifying contraption had stopped moving. When he sat up and looked around, he saw modern destruction for the first time in his life._

_The jolt of the crash had snapped Rue's left arm, sent a metal bar flying straight through her chest, and caused the belt holding her in place to slam her into the leather seat. He watched as Rue grit her teeth against the pain: her right arm was pinned against the huge wooden branch sticking in through the windshield, her left arm was broken in half, she'd been impaled by a metal bar the size of a glaive, and she was being crushed to death by the seatbelt._

_Sesshomaru saw that her mother was still alive and conscious, but the woman had a wide cut on her throat and was crying hysterically._

_"This is how Rue got the scar on her chest…" Sesshomaru stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "_

_"Mommy…" Rue wheezed, catching his attention when she scrunched her face in pain. "Are you… okay?"_

_"My throat... has been cut..." the woman peeped almost inaudibly, "but nothing's b-broken, a-at least."_

_"I can't… breath!" Rue squeaked weakly, vainly struggling to free herself._

_"What do you mean?" the woman asked in alarm._

_"I mean I'm stuck!" the girl finally wailed in a wheezing voice. Sesshomaru stiffened when tears started trickling from her big golden eyes, rolling up and into her bloodstained silver hair as she hung helplessly upside down with a pipe sticking out of her chest. T__he woman clutched her bleeding throat and coughed up blood even as she started crawling through the debris towards her daughter; she held out a trembling hand towards the little girl, yellow eyes already glazing over._

_"Baby..." she choked, struggling to reach the seat belt even as blood began to spill from her mouth. "Hang on..."_

_"Help me, Mommy..." Rue whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut as darkness begins to sweep over her. _

_Sesshomaru watched as the dying woman pressed down on a red button that released the belt; however, he winced when the little girl's head slammed into hard metal when she fell over. However, when she took a gasping breath, life rushed back into her and she opened her eyes. Rue hesitantly glanced down at her chest and touched the pipe sticking out of her body with a look of horror before she glanced at her twin brother. Sesshomaru watched as the little girl's expression became stricken with fright and followed her gaze: the silver-haired boy had been impaled by the branch that had shattered the windshield and he was barely breathing._

_"Roe!" Rue squeaked hysterically, crawling through the wreckage and touching her little brother's arm._

_"Rue…?" he asked weakly, not opening his eyes._

_There was blood trickling from his mouth…_

_"Yes, Roe! It's me!" Rue cried weakly, both looking terrified as she took his hand with her uninjured one._

_His skin was dead cold…_

_"Rue, tell Aunt Rosie that I'm sorry I can't make it to her birthday," Roe whimpered faintly, opening his glazed golden eyes. "Tell her..."_

_"You can tell her yourself, Roe! You're going to be fine, okay?" Rue fervently assured him; their bleeding mother was clutching her cut throat and frantically struggling to find something. Sesshomaru watched as she pulled out a little boxlike thing, flicked it open, pressed three buttons, and began talking to someone in a frantic voice as she asked for something called the emergency paramedics. She began speaking about a numbered road and then explained the accident._

_"Don't lie to me…" Roe chided with a small smile, capturing the demon's attention. "We're twins, so I can tell when you lie... promise you'll tell her?"_

_"I promise, Roe," Rue whispered, clasping his hand with both of hers, "but that doesn't mean you can die! Please, don't die!" _

_"I love you…" Roe sighed, hand slowly relaxing in hers; Rue's eyes went horribly blank and she instantly touched her brother's arm, but he was limp.  
_

_The silver-haired girl instantly slumped against the upturned seat, staring off into space as she clutched the pipe that had impaled her chest. _

_The front and back of her white T-shirt was stained crimson, and blood was trickling from her mouth as she struggled to breathe._

_"Roe, baby, hold on! The ambulance is coming! Please, don't die! Rue, help me!" Irelia frantically choked, crawling past Sesshomaru and shaking her son's arm with bloody hands; then she glanced at her daughter and saw that she had fallen over. "Oh, no! Rue, your chest! You've got a pipe stuck through your chest!"_

_Sesshomaru stared at Rue's face as the woman's voice slowly began to disappear and his hearing dimmed, but he stiffened slightly when the world around him slowly began to fade away except for the dying girl. He could hear her heartbeat slowing down, and a blinding light engulfed his mind as her breathing slowly came to an end. __He could hear the voices of the dead inside her mind as she slipped away from herself and her heart stopped completely… and for a moment, everything around him became dark for what felt like an eternity. All he could see was Rue lying slumped over on her side with the pipe through her chest. _

_Then, she too, disappeared._

_However, after nearly an eternity of waiting in the endless darkness, Sesshomaru suddenly found himself back in the world of strange machine... only,this time he was outside the destroyed contraption and surrounded by a multitude of Asian people wearing odd black clothes. Another machine with stark red-and-white colors was resting nearby, __and flashing lights spun in circles on the top of it _ as a man and woman knelt over Rue Thompson's body. 

_"I've got a pulse!" the Asian woman cried in relief, setting the girl's wrist down. "__I've got a pulse! She's gonna be okay!_"

_"Do we have any identification for the four bodies?" a Japanese man asked._

_"Irelia Thompson, forty-seven years; Sarah Thompson, nineteen-years; Annabelle Thompson, sixteen-years; and Roe Hollyrose Thompson, eight-years," a second Asian man replied; however, his slanted eyes slowly widened in horror as he flipped through the papers. "Oh, God... these people are... shit! These guys are royalty! Royalty, as in the joined rulers of the French_ and_ Irish Kingdoms! If they're all dead, and Rue Rosemerry Thompson is the only remaining survivor... she's next in line for both thrones!"_

_"These people are foreign royalty?" a third man asked, tipping up his hat. "This is going to create quite a bit of controversy if people find out about this. Let's keep it a secret."_

_A blinding flash of white light overtook Sesshomaru's senses and the mental images shifted dizzyingly._

_Sesshomaru blinked twice against the blinding glare, but he stiffened when he realized that the strange people and contraptions had disappeared._

_A world he'd never before seen had replaced it. _

_He looked around, wondering why he was inside such an incredible building instead of outside a wrecked metal object until a woman came rushing around the corner and sped right through him—as though he were made of nothing but smoke. It was the woman from the van, the one who'd lost three of her children in the accident._

_"Oh, Rue-chan, hurry! Your date is at the front door!" Mizuki Tachibana squealed from the foot of the stairs—exciting her daughter to the point where she desperately adjusted her pale blue jeans jacket and straightened up her sunhat—trying to look perfect for her first date ever._

_"I'm coming, Mama!" Rue cried in delight, golden eyes shining with so much hope and possibility that Sesshomaru stiffened slightly in surprise. The woman and the demon both watched as she came flying down the stairs and happily twirled around, ruffled white sundress fanning out around her body: oddly enough, they were the very same clothes that Rue's Fear had been wearing. "How do I look? Do you think he'll like it? Do you think he'll kiss me again? Oh, wow, do you think he'll—!"_

_"Calm down sweetie! You look beautiful!" Kagome laughed, flicking up the edge of her daughter's sunhat so she could see her golden eyes. "And I have to say that the young man standing at our front door with that big bunch of flowers looks like quite a catch, too!"_

_"Flowers?!" Rue squealed in delight, eyes lighting up with excitement as she flew towards the door. "Oh, wow! I'll see you later, Mama! Love ya a million red M&Ms!"_

_"And I love you a ton of yakisoba!" the woman laughed. "Have fun!"_

_Sesshomaru quickly followed the girl, watching with unfathomable golden eyes as Rue laughed, ran around the corner, smoothed her dress, straightened her hat, and hastily opened the door with a huge grin of giddy delight. A black-haired Japanese boy with incredibly unique blue eyes was waiting for her, wearing black pants and a green vest over a white T-shirt: he was holding a huge bouquet of colorful pink and yellow flowers in his arms: roses, tiger lilies, and rues._

_"Hey, Rue-chan," he greeted quietly, handing her the flowers with a small smile that somehow didn't touch his eyes._

_"Oh, Tsuruuki-kun," she breathed, gently taking them and admiring their vibrant colors with wondrous eyes as she touched the delicate petals._

_"I'm guessing you like them judging by the sparkle in your eyes, right?" Tsuruuki chuckled. "Those eyes of yours always do that whenever you're happy."_

_Rue's __jaw dropped open_ and she instantly looked up at him in blatant disbelief.

_"Like them?" she scoffed, throwing her arms around his torso. "How can you even ask me that? I don't like them, Tsuruuki-kun—I love them!"_

_"I'm glad," Tsuruuki laughed, patting Rue's back as her leg popped backward. "Now, shall we go to the party?"_

_"Sure, of course!" Rue exclaimed, instantly pulling away from him and staring at his face. _

_She loved the way his hair always seemed to look messy despite the fact that he constantly combed it. Sesshomaru watched emotionlessly when he held out his hand, but snarled when Rue took it and the two made their way outside into downtown Kyoto. He followed and watched as the girl hummed softly to herself and leaned her head on Tsuruuki's muscular arm, holding her bouquet of flowers close to her chest with a gentle-eyed smile on her face. He followed as they continued walking down the crowded, bustling streets with their hands locked together, but soon the scenery started to change._

_It was quickly becoming less populated and more rural._

_"Hey, Tsuruuki-kun?" Rue quipped brightly, looking up at the blue-eyed boy with an embarrassed giggle. "Where are they throwing the Cultural Festival? I was so excited when you called me that I forgot to ask where it was."_

_"It's still a few miles away," Tsuruuki replied emotionlessly, not glancing down at her._

_"Oh?" Rue replied quietly, cocking her head to the side as she gazed at him in confusion. "Okay, then."_

_They continued on in silence, and Rue once again leaned her head on his arm. Soon they came to a cut-off that read 'Kyoto Nature Park and Trails Preservation' and Tsuruuki started to turn down it._

_"They're holding the Festival at the Tokyo Nature Preserve?" Rue inquired, blinking a few times in surprise. "Wow, never heard of anybody doing that before."_

_"Well, they're only doing it once," Tsuruuki replied a little coldly. "They're throwing the party at the center of the park."_

_"Hey, Tsuruuki-kun?" Rue timidly asked, glancing up at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay? You seem a little… tense. Am I bothering you?"_

_"Of course not, Little Flower," Tsuruuki replied instantly, glancing down at her with a surprised look. _

_Sesshomaru was unconvinced by his response: his eyes still seemed flat, and somehow… cold._

_"Okay," Rue sighed, nuzzling his shoulder. "I feel like the luckiest girl ever right now. Do you want to know why?"_

_"Why?" Tsuruuki asked monotonously._

_"Because I'm with the coolest guy in the world, and he likes me just as much as I like him," Rue dreamily __replied_, leaning against his arm. "Because I found my first friend in the entire world when that same guy crashed his bike into my back by accident and we both went flying into a ditch, because he can make me smile and laugh, even at the worst possible times in my life, because I don't have to worry about feeling completely alone when I talk to him... and most of all, it's because I'm here, right now, with someone I trust with all of my heart. I've never really had anything like that up until now, so it makes me really happy."

_"Good for you," Tsuruuki replied slowly, looking off to the side as his lips tightened. _

_Rue looked up at him with confusion as they approached the center of Kyoto park, then shrugged it off and let his behavior go. The two of them walked on in silence as Sesshomaru followed, unseen and unheard, until they reached the clearing. There was a bonfire going on in the middle of it, and nine boys with cans of beer and packs of cigarettes were joking around with each other as they laughed about the girls at the high school. Rue looked around, searching for the other guests, but nobody else was there. She thought it was more than a little strange how there were no party decorations or music going on in the clearing._

_"'Oi, look guys! It Tsuruuki-san! It's 'bout time you got here, man!" one of the boys called cheerfully; all of the others heartily agreed and stood up, approaching the two of them. Sesshomaru felt sick when he recognized the lustful looks on their faces, and he reached for his sword when they continued to banter playfully with each other and move toward the coup;e. He tried to draw it when three of the boys startled Rue immensely by charging forward without warning and jerking her off of Tsuruuki's arm, but the weapon wouldn't budge from its sheath. The demon's pupils contracted and he glanced at his sword __in angry disbelief_.

_Trying to jerk it out had no effect whatsoever._

_"Hey! L-let go of me! What do you think you're doing?!" Rue cried, eyes widening in shock as they ripped the flowers out of her hands and tore her hat off. She squeaked in alarm and began to struggle when the boys pinned her arms behind her back and forced her down on her knees. "Ow! Let go! Tsuruuki, help!"_

_"Shut up, bitch!" one of the boys restraining her snarled, kneeing her hard in the small of the back. Sesshomaru's golden eyes blazed with rage at the sight and he leapt for the boy with an outstretched hand—only to go right through the teenager._

_"OUCH!" Rue squeaked, squeezing her yellow eyes shut in pain as her back smarted; however, her snapped open eyes in terror when one of the boys grabbed her long ponytail and used it to jerk her head back, forcing her to stare straight into Tsuruuki's sneering face. Sesshomaru was helpless to do anything but watch._

_"Enjoying the party, Little Flower?" he snickered, using the girl's nickname in a mocking way._

_"Tsuruuki, what…?" Rue whispered, golden eyes widening in terrified confusion. "What's going on here?"_

_"Nothing much," the boy replied with a casual smirk, then drew back his hand and slapped Rue across the face as hard as he could—causing Sesshomaru to snarl in rage once again when she yipped. "I'm just earning my social status as a king with everyone else around here, that's all."_

_"Social… status?" Rue whispered inaudibly, staring up at him in horror even though __her cheek was stinging badly_. "You mean… y-you mean that you were only using me like everyone else so you could become popular? You became my friend just so you… so you could... no! You're lying! You have to be!"

_"Oh, I'm definitely being honest with you right now," Tsuruuki snorted in amusement. "In fact, I'm actually a little shocked that you didn't realize it sooner."_

_"How could I have?!" Rue frantically __cried_, not wanting to believe that any of this was really happening. "I thought you cared about me!"

_"Cared about you?" Tsuruuki Takahashi scoffed, raising a thick eyebrow as his buddies laughed. "Here's a piece of advice, Little Flower: you're not very pretty, and you're not very bright. Nobody will ever care about a freak like you, so get the fuck over your romantic constipation and face your reality for once."_

_Rue's golden eyes became blank and the world around her slowly seemed to dissolve, sound disintegrating into silence as time stopped for a brief instant. The air before her eyes seemed to crack like glass as she stared into Tsuruuki's cold blue eyes, realizing with a sense of icy dread that he meant every word. Rue slowly felt her heart breaking apart, fracturing right down the middle and causing a terrible agony to envelop her chest: a black haze of pain soon fogged up her mind._

_"Why should I…?" she asked emotionlessly, staring at him with deadened eyes that had suddenly become devoid of any light. "Why should I even bother trying to get over my dreams, Takahashi-san? You crushed them all within the span of about thirty seconds... so, really, there's nothing left to get over now."_

_Tsuruuki's sneer was replaced with a brief look of guilty indecision before he covered it up. _

_"Well, that's your fault," __the Asian boy snorted._ "Don't blame me for your own mistakes."

_"My fault?" Rue whispered, closing her eyes as the other seven boys came closer, laughing at his reply. "The only mistake I made was trusting you—so I guess that means I'm a stupid dreamer and you're a deceitful liar who takes joy in destroying other people's dreams. I hope you're happy with your reality, Takahashi-san."_

_"That's enough talk, bitch!" the boy holding her hair snapped, throwing her forward and onto the ground. Rue instantly rolled over and tried to get up, but more boys were already attacking her. Sesshomaru's shoulders shook in rage as he watched Rue struggle weakly for a few moments, but soon they had her pinned and were ripping her clothes off. He felt sick as the girl stared at the sky with terrified eyes, gritting her teeth in defiance when they began to have their way with her. _

_However, he closed his eyes and grit his teeth when the girl finally couldn't keep herself from screaming in agony as they raped her. _

_It seemed to go on forever, and by the time they were finished she was barely conscious._

_"Dude, she's out of it now," the last boy laughed, zipping up the front of his jeans. "Should we get rid of her now?"_

_"What do you mean by get rid of her?" another boy scoffed. "Like, throw her in a dumpster to sleep in for the night?"_

_"No, I mean should we get the job done and kill her now!" the first boy snapped._

_"Whoa, dude—nobody said anything about killing the freak," a third boy exclaimed instantly. "The point of doing this was so we could all get some action since our girls weren't giving us any, not so we could kill a high school girl."_

_"So what?" the first boy retorted. "If we don't kill her, we'll all go to prison because she'll tell everyone we were the ones who did all of this to her."_

_"I agree with Shiizuka-san," a fourth boy stated. "We'll get arrested if she blabs."_

_"Same here," a fifth agreed instantly—and soon, seven of the boys had agreed with the first._

_"Fine, you guys can kill her if you want to, but I'm not going to help," the third boy snapped worriedly. "I don't want a teenaged girl's blood on my hands—even if she is a freak. If you ask me, this is taking it way too far."_

_"Good thing nobody asked you," the first boy snickered. "How about we let Tsuruuki do the honors? I mean, he was the one who brought her here."_

_"No problem," Tsuruuki laughed, walking over to where Rue lay limply on the ground. The girl heard his footsteps and weakly turned her head to look up at him through her tangled silver hair. Her face was bloody, and she tasted it in her mouth as she stared at the glinting blade in the tall boy's hand._

_"Tsuruuki…" she whispered, staring up at him with a broken expression as he knelt next to her and glared at her with cold blue eyes._

_"Don't even try to beg for your life," the boy snapped irritably. "You'll just look pathetic."_

_"I wasn't going to," Rue whispered with a forlorn expression. "I just wanted to say thanks."_

_"Thanks?" he scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "I just let all of my friends gang-rape you, and I laughed in your face while they were doing it."_

_"I know... and because of that, I'm thanking you for reminding me of the reasons behind why I never should have trusted anybody else," Rue whispered, closing her eyes as her lips began to quiver. Her expression contorted with an urge to cry as she tilted her head back. "Just do me a favor and make it quick, okay?"_

_Sesshomaru's breath hitched the moment she said it, and he had to do everything in his power to remind himself that this was only one of the girl's memories; she wouldn't have been alive right now if the boy had killed her back then. There was a long pause as Rue lay there, golden eyes squeezed shut while she waited for Tsuruuki to kill her—to plunge that pocketknife into her throat and end her life. However, the knife didn't stab her where she expected it to; instead of slicing into her throat, Sesshomaru watched as the boy slammed the blade into her forearm, burying it to the hilt twice in rapid succession. _

_After that, he dropped the knife onto her lap and walked away in the direction that his friends had gone._

_"I'm not going to kill you if that's what you really want, Tachibana-san," he icily __called back_. "I'll let you suffer so you can feel more pain later on. However, if you tell anyone what we did to you tonight, I will personally kill you and your foster mother with my bare hands. Piece of advice, Little Flower: it's easier to hurt you when you're not expecting it, so don't lower your guard for a second when you're at school. From this moment on, I am going to be your worst nightmare."

_Rue watched him go and looked at her arm blankly before she moved, feeling burning agony ripping through her muscles as she rolled over and crawled to all fours. Too dizzy to stand up, the silver-haired girl numbly pulled her underwear back up and smoothed her torn, bloodstained white dress down around her legs before she weakly dragged herself over to a nearby tree and leaned against it. She clutched her chest as an empty feeling began to fill her heart, seeming to cut a painful hole into the living flesh. Sesshomaru watched her with enraged eyes—the rage being directed at the boys who had hurt her so badly. Staring at the black leaves of the tree with empty eyes, Rue wished that she'd never met Tsuruuki Takahashi and swore she would never let herself trust anyone ever again. Then she slumped down and limply crumpled on her side, collapsing in the shade next to the path before falling into unconsciousness. _

_Then the world disintegrated into blinding white light for the last time, engulfing Sesshomaru's mind in radiance._

A world of white surrounded him after he witnessed Rue's worst memories, and before him—sitting on the ground with her back to him—was Rue Thompson herself. She was wearing a dress made of white, with long sleeves that seemed to flow loosely around her arms and a square-cut neckline. The girl's pale skin and cascading silver hair made her seem like she was a part of the dress; there was no color or depth in the image before him.

_"Why are you here?"_ Rue asked quietly: her normally inflected voice was emotionless and very much like his in tone.

_"You need to return to your body," _Sesshomaru explained. "_If you don't, you'll die." _

"So?" Rue softly inquired. "Why do you even care?"

He didn't respond to the question; he didn't know _how_ to respond after witnessing her memories.

_"Go back to the others before this place collapses, Sesshomaru-sama,"_ Rue stated, giving a quiet laugh that sounded devoid of real humor. _"Inuyasha needs all the help he can get to beat Naraku. Death already promised to make the pain go away, so I invited him to come here not too long before you showed up."_

"_And I am here to keep that promise, Rue Thompson,"_ a voice that sounded as smooth as silk said gently, easily threading into their conversation. The small girl slowly let go of her knees and rose to her feet without turning to look back at Sesshomaru. The white dress clung beautifully to her slender form as she waited, silver hair shining as it rippled in the sudden wind that had entered the air around her. A muscular black man wielding a terrifying-looking scythe and flowing black robes suddenly appeared in a rift that opened three feet in front of her. "_All you need to do is take my hand."_

_"The pain will go away if I do?"_ Rue asked quietly, small hands tightening against her chest. "_It'll go away like you said?"_

"_Yes,"_ the man replied, giving Rue a smile that looked so inviting that even Sesshomaru wanted to believe him.

_"You won't be better,"_ the demon said quickly.

_"Again, you don't care,"_ Rue said emotionlessly, not even turning around to look at him.

_"If I didn't care to some degree,"_ Sesshomaru hissed in a low voice. "_I wouldn't be here."_

"_That may be true, but I still don't believe you,_" Rue shot back coldly. "_You're not trustworthy enough to try an believe in._"

"_Then why did Ria guide me here?_" Sesshomaru growled, irked by her words about his honesty. "_I doubt she would have agreed if she felt the same way."_

_"R-Ria...?"_ Rue whispered, stiffening slightly in alarm.

"_Ah, yes, the demon woman who poisoned your thoughts…"_ the black man murmured. _"You have been released from her, remember?_"

"_Do you honestly want to cause other people the pain that you're trying to escape from?"_ Sesshomaru snapped, cutting the man off. _"Are you that weak?"_

"_Other people?"_ Rue asked, turning towards him a little before staring lifelessly at the ground. _"Who do you mean?"_

"_Ria, Jaken, or any of the other friends you've made here,"_ Sesshomaru instantly retorted. _"However, Rin would be hit the hardest out of everyone."_

_"Rin…"_ Rue whispered, slowly lifting her blank yellow eyes to look at his face. _"My little sister…"_

_"Yes,"_ Sesshomaru said, nodding twice.

_"You should keep in mind that she'll join you one day, anyway,"_ Death said, threading his voice into their conversation yet again, only more slick and seductive than before. He shot a black-eyed glare at Sesshomaru, but smiled when Rue turned back to him. "_She will have to meet me in the end, too, just like everyone in the entire world. It's inevitable, my dear, that people die—whether it be by sword, accident, or age. All you need to do is take my hand and the pain will be over."_

_"It's not your time yet, so return to your body: you are strong enough to handle the pain,"_ Sesshomaru stated calmly, shifting his weight and holding out his hand; however, for the first time in his life, he actually felt like he was about to lose something precious to him. _"Return to your body, Rue Thompson!"_

_"You said my real name,"_ Rue whispered, whirling around and staring at him with huge eyes. "You just said my real name for the first time!"

"_Yes,"_ Sesshomaru huffed, turning around and facing her with narrowed eyes. _"I did."_

"_Sesshomaru-sama! You really do care!"_ Rue wailed happily; lifting her small hands to grip the front of her dress, the tiny girl ran over to him and flung her skinny arms around his body. He tensed in irritation before he returned her embrace, staring off into space with a twitching eye as he did so.

"_No!"_ Death screamed in a rage, gripping his scythe as he began to disappear. _"I almost had the chance to add another Goddess to my soul collection!"_

_"Do you think I'm strong enough to do it?"_ Rue asked after a long moment, glancing up at Sesshomaru. "_I don't think I have the energy to get back."_

"_You will if you take back the parts of your soul that you cast out,"_ the Demon Lord replied. "_They will help you return."_

"_Are you sure?"_ Rue asked, frowning worriedly as she bit her lip. _"What if they don't want to come back to me?"_

_"They are a part of you,"_ Sesshomaru murmured. "_If you want them to come back, they will want to return."_

_"I'm really glad I chose you as a friend,"_ Rue sighed, finally letting him go and taking his hands in her own before he could argue. She closed her golden eyes and concentrated on the emptiness inside her, wondering how she could call her soul back. It was in pieces, so she didn't really know.

_"You just have to accept us!"_ a small voice exclaimed.

Sound suddenly returned to her ears and, quite suddenly, things became deafeningly loud. Rue opened her eyes in surprise: she was once again standing in her school uniform, surrounded by a world full of darkness that seemed to be crumbling away as the ground quaked angrily beneath her feet. Familiar forms were standing around and staring at her, waiting patiently; Sesshomaru was only a step behind her.

_"All you have to do is accept us,"_ the squeaky voice repeated, and Rue turned to the owner. However, the girl stiffened with a look of intense surprise when she saw that the speaker was herself: she was looking at a living, breathing image of herself when she'd been nine years old, dressed in the very same outfit that she'd been wearing when the car accident had killed her siblings and had almost killed her, too.

_"But, I'm so weak now,"_ Rue whispered, blinking a few times in surprise as she stared at the little girl.

_"It's because you've lost your Strength,"_ another version of her explained, and her eyes went wide when she saw that this particular one was wearing a completely identical black version of her school uniform.

_"Huh?"_ Rue asked in confusion; every version of her pointed to a pale blue trail that led toward the edge of the darkness, and Rue stiffened in alarm when she saw that it ended at the fallen body of a familiar person. She had never once seen her, but Rue knew exactly who she was. Rue immediately jumped and race over to the fox demon with all of the power she could find, but when she finally made it, she stumbled and fell to her knees beside the girl. "Ria? Ria! Answer me!"

_"She is your Strength,"_ Sesshomaru stated, leaning down to hold Ria up in his arms; the demon's arctic blue eyes opened a little bit.

"_Rue…"_ she murmured, eyes opening completely and becoming more alert; she instantly brought up her hands and touched the girl's cheeks. "_You're okay?"_

"_Yeah, I'm fine, but what about you?"_ Rue asked, worriedly biting her lip.

"_Well, I honestly don't think I'm okay,"_ the fox demon replied. "_Something's wrong with me_."

"_Ria, you're not okay because you're not connected to me anymore,"_ Rue explained, lowering her eyes. _"You have to return to me."_

"_What are you talking about?"_ the girl snorted.

"_Ria, you're a part of me,"_ Rue sighed, eyes softening as she stared at the girl. _"I've always felt incomplete, even when I was really young—but now I understand why. Didn't you feel that way?"_

_"Yeah, but I always thought it was because I was the last female nine-tail,"_ Ria said weakly. "_I'll never have a true soul mate... and that reality is lonely._"

"_Will you please return to me?_" Rue asked, looking at the deceptively young-looking woman who had become so close to her. "_I can't survive without you_."

"_Don't have to ask me twice, honey,"_ Ria stated, lifting her eyes when Sesshomaru lifted both of them and set them down on their feet. When the nine-tailed fox and the Celestial Goddess locked their tiny hands together, two sparkling lights exploded out of their bodies: a brilliant red one—the same aura that had appeared when Rin had been attacked by the ogre—and a sparkling blue one—like the glow that had silhouetted Rue's unseen wings when she'd first arrived at Kaede's village.

The differently-colored lights started to glow around their individual bodies and only mixed at the spot directly above their interlocked hands.

They stood up together and closed their eyes in synchronicity.

_"Do you accept your Happiness?"_ the little girl called happily.

"_I do,"_ Rue replied quietly; the child laughed as she dissolved into a warm yellow light, and Rue gasped involuntarily when the light was sucked into her body.

As Happiness filled her heart once again, the teenager tilted her head back in rapture as a huge smile flashed across her delicate face.

"_Do you accept your Confidence?"_ a slightly younger version of her inquired forcefully.

"_I do,"_ Rue confirmed, nodding with her eyes still closed; the other Rue cheered as she became an orange glow that was sucked inside the girl's body.

She let out a sigh as Confidence filled her heart once again.

_"Do you accept your Love?"_ the older, beautiful version of Rue asked warmly.

_"Yes,"_ Rue replied with a smile; the woman laughed merrily as she became a soft pink glow that was slowly pulled into Rue's chest.

The girl beamed as Love filled her heart once again.

_"Do you accept your Anger?"_ the Goth-like version of Rue asked a snappish tone of voice.

_"Yes,"_ Rue laughed, shaking her head in amusement; the girl became a beautiful silver glow that shot into her like an arrow of light.

Rue twitched slightly when her anger returned with a rush of power.

"_Do you accept your Fear?"_ the version of Rue wearing the white dress and jeans jacket asked anxiously.

_"Definitely,"_ Rue answered a little more solemnly, biting her lip when the girl sighed and became a luminous violet glow that was sucked into her heart.

Rue's fears returned to her mind with a terrifying jolt.

_"Do you accept your Sadness?"_ the version of her in the white uniform asked quietly.

_"Yes,"_ Rue replied with a sigh; the girl became a gentle dark blue glow that flew into Rue's body and cascaded over her heart with an icy, cooling feeling.

Rue's face fell drastically as her sadness returned.

"_Do you accept me?"_ Ria asked with a small smile, opening her eyes and looking at Rue. "_If I'm really your strength, it'll give me a reason to stay with you._"

The two of them gazed into each others eyes for several long moments: freezing blue to burning gold.

"_Absolutely, Ria D'Harana..._" Rue whispered back, returning the smile with one of her own. Ria let out a gasp as she became a bright red light that surrounded Rue's form, filling her and becoming her as she was pulled back inside the girl's body. Instantly, the other pieces of her soul didn't seem that heavy anymore.

Rue smiled, glad to be feeling like herself again, but then a roaring wind engulfed her body and she fell away from Sesshomaru and Ria.

The two demons immediately disappeared.

"_EEK! What's going on?!"_ Rue squeaked as she fell slowly down into the darkness. _"What's happening?!"_

"_You are safe. I only wish to talk to you,"_ a beautiful voice called from somewhere in the darkness. _"You have an important decision to make."_

"_Who are you? What are you talking about?"_ Rue asked as her descent began to slow down; when her body turned right-side up and floated down, she clamped both hands to her school skirt to keep it from puffing out like a balloon only a few seconds before her shiny leather dress shoes gently clacked on an unseen floor.

"_I... am Midoriko,"_ the voice replied, and—from right in front of her—a Japanese woman with amazing beauty appeared; she was wearing battle armor even though she was no doubt a human, and a strange mark that resembled a four-petal flower was etched into the skin on her forehead. "_And you... are my reincarnation."_

"_I'm what?"_ Rue peeped quietly, eyes widening in alarm as she took in the woman's battle armor and sword. "_What do you mean I'm your reincarnation?"_

"_The Jewel of Four Souls was made by the power resting inside me,"_ the woman replied, smiling in understanding when Rue involuntarily grabbed the front of her blazer and her eyes widened in stunned surprise, _"and because you are my reincarnation, you possess the same spiritual abilities that I did back then. All of my power was transferred into the Sacred Jewel when I passed on... but now, your power is growing... and soon, it will become even more powerful than the Jewel's._"

_"W-what...?"_ Rue whispered, shaking her head and quickly backing away. "_That's not possible! It can't be! You're a human, aren't you?!"_

"_I was human when I was alive,"_ the woman acknowledged, nodding with another sad smile, "_but my abilities were awakened by a God from a distant land. You have the same abilities that I did... but you are more powerful than I, and that's why you need to know what happened to me. Your power is something that many demons crave, and if you are not prepared for the dangers that you may have to face, you will most likely perish the same way that I did... so listen closely." _

**TXXXXXT**

"Inuyasha, SIT!" Kagome screamed.

"OUCH!" The white haired half-demon yelped as he slammed into the ground. "W-what'd I do?! I was just sitting here!"

"Humph!" Kagome snapped, stomping away down the street after randomly storming out of the hut and using the command he most dreaded on him.

"Hey, I asked you a question!" Inuyasha cried.

"Because I can, alright? I can do it whenever I want!" Kagome screamed, whipping around and glaring at him. "SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! See?!"

The hole she left in her wake is still there to this very day.

However, her actions made Rin cry again, and that made her feel guilty. For the next thirty minutes, she tried to alleviate the little girl's worries... but then, Kagome entered the hut after Rin was calm and glanced around with vacant eyes. With a pang of dismay, she thought that nothing had changed... but then she glanced at Rue and gasped. The girl's skin color had returned to its normal hue, her breathing was returning to normal, and her small hand had clasped Sesshomaru's.

"The two of them moved!" she whispered, clasping her hands together; however, the Sacred Jewels in the bottle around Kagome's neck started to pulse and glow with violet light. She immediately looked down as a soft violet glow began to form around Rue's body. Kagome tried to turn around, but the bottle holding the jewel tugged at her neck, refusing to let her move. Staring at it in shock for a moment, Kagome Takakashi removed the bottle from around her neck and placed it at Rue's feet before running outside in a frenzy. She didn't even take the time to notice that the jewel, and Rue's body, were beginning to glow brighter and brighter.

When everyone was inside the room, Sesshomaru twitched and they all tensed a little.

"So, you're awake?" Kagome asked, leaning forward and staring at the demon lord's face when his eyes finally snapped open.

"Yes," he replied, lowering his golden eyes and glaring at her, "now move."

"Well, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the spirit world this morning," Sango muttered, frowning in disapproval as he slowly sat up and glanced at Rue—who was still asleep. She seemed all right: her skin wasn't pale, her breathing had returned to normal, and her small hand felt warm against his own. He turned his eyes to glance down at her fingers, which had been interlaced through his. At first he didn't move, but then Kagome spoke up again.

"How come she isn't moving?" the Asian girl worriedly inquired. "Did you help her or not?"

"Lord Sesshomaru, is Rue going to be okay?" a small voice asked, and he turned to see both Rin and Shippo seated at their feet.

He nodded to the child, ignoring the reincarnated priestess.

"Oh, so he'll answer her, but he'll ignore me?" Kagome scoffed in offense as she stomped back over to the wall and sat down between Sango and Inuyasha. Rin and Shippo both smiled as hope returning to their eyes, and the two children went goes back to staring at Rue's sleeping face.

"She's coming home," Shippo sobbed in relief, hugging Rin with a huge smile.

"She's coming home," Rin confirmed, also becoming tearful.


	15. Chapter 14: An Angel's Wings

**Chapter Fourteen: An Angel's Wings**

_"Rue, now that you know about the jewel, you need to make your decision,"_ Midoriko told her after a long explanation of how the jewel had come to be.

"_What decision?"_ Rue asked, glancing at the woman when she stood up.

"_The decision that you and Ria have not yet finished,"_ she replied, holding her hand out to her side as a very familiar form appeared beside her.

_"Ria!"_ Rue exclaimed, jumping to her feet and running over to the blue-eyed girl.

_"Hey, Rue,"_ the fox demon murmured, glancing at Midoriko in confusion. "_Who's that? She feels... oddly familiar to me."_

"_As you now know, Ria is your Strength... and she, too, has accepted this,"_ the woman murmured. _"However, the raw power inside of you have one last thing to fuse together: Ria is a pure-blooded nine-tailed fox demon , but you are a pure-blooded celestial goddess. If these two opposing sides are not joined, then they might cause some very big problems in your body later on. Your decision rests with the two of you: you must decide whether you will be angel or demon."_

Midoriko backed away once the words were out, letting Ria and Rue stand before each other with shocked expressions. Ria had been a demon, a _full_ demon, for nearly a thousand years longer than Rue had even been alive: she wouldn't be able to become accustomed to the purity of being an angel. Rue, on the other hand, was a goddess with an incredibly pure aura... which would make it horribly difficult to become accustomed to the darkness of being a demon.

And the woman was pretty much saying they both had to choose which one of them was going to suffer for eternity.

_"That's not fair…"_ Rue whispered, expression falling as she looked into Ria's shimmering blue eyes.

_"Stay as you are,"_ Ria whispered, slowly walking up and touching the girl's cheeks with both hands. "_You're like my daughter. I want you to remain pure."_

"_No way!_" Rue protested, shaking her head and clasping the demon woman's hands. "_If I do that, you'll suffer forever! No way!_"

"_Rue... you and I may have been separate beings, but we were a part of each other all along,"_ the demon replied. "_Once we merge, I'll fade away and you'll be complete for the first time in your life. If that's how its going to be, I'm content... because we are the same person, Rue Rosemerry Thompson."_

"_No!_" Rue said evenly, whirling around to look at Midoriko. _"That wouldn't be fair to either of us, so… I want… to put our races together!"_

_"Huh?" _Ria gasped, eyes becoming huge_. "Rue, no! Don't! You don't know what that means!"_

"Yes, I do," Rue retorted, shooting the girl a fierce look from over her shoulder. "It means I'd be a half demon."

_"But not a normal half-demon!"_ Ria protested, gripping her arms with a frantic expression. "_Rue, please listen to me for a second! You would become half angel, half demon—and you would be the only being in the entire existence of Earth to be half of something other than human! Your abilities would change in order to adapt to mine, but how you used them would also change—and because of what you can control, like time and the nature of the things around you, losing the knowledge of how you control them could destroy the entire world if our powers were joined! On top of that, my powers would shift in several ways, as well!"_

"_I'm glad that I only just started figuring out how to use my abilities, then,_" Rue retorted, effectively causing the other silver-haired girl to clamp her jaw shut.

"_So, you wish to merge your souls,_" Midoriko stated, slowly closing her eyes, "_and become both a full-blooded god and a full-blooded demon?"_

"_Yes,_" Rue confirmed with a nod. "_That way we can both be on equal terms."_

_"But, Rue!"_ Ria cried, eyes widening in horror. _"You honestly don't know what will happen to you if you do this! You're causing an imbalance!_"

_"It's okay, Ria,"_ Rue interrupted. "_We can handle this, okay? We'll learn to synchronize out powers together._"

_"If this is your wish,"_ Midoriko stated, looking at the silver-haired doppelgangers, "_then I might know someone who can help you."_

_"Yes, it's our wish,"_ Rue murmured quietly; but then, after a moment, she hastily added, _"but if I can ask you for one more thing, I'd like to know if the option of having full-blooded nine-tail fox children and full-blooded angels is all right. I'm only asking you this because I recently discovered that we are both the last females of our kind... and if the two of us merge, then there won't ever be any full-blooded nine-tails or angels in the future: only half-breeds."_

"_Very well: those are very reasonable and logical requests for such a young girl,"_ the woman stated, smiling warmly and lifting her arms: Rue and Ria were both engulfed in a bright violet light, much like the one the sacred jewel was constantly giving off. Rue Thompson and Ria D'Harana both closed their eyes against the brightness, clasping each others hands as their souls flickered and became one. And just like that, Rue became whole for the first time in her life.

Her long hair billowed around as she fell away from Midoriko and down into darkness.

**TXXXXXT**

"I don't understand," Kaede said, shaking her head in worry. "Her body and soul have returned, but still she doesn't wake."

Sesshomaru was sitting Indian-style by Rue's head while the others rested around her body. Rin was clutched onto his arm tightly, refusing to let go as her small face remained pinched with worry. They all stared down at the albino girl with worried eyes: she looked as though she were asleep, but then she shifted and let out a moan before opening her eyes. When she dazedly blinked at the ceiling, everyone in the room cheered in immense relief.

"You're awake!" Kagome exclaimed, throwing her arms around the girl's neck when she sat up. "Oh, Miharu-chan, we thought you'd died!"

"Thank goodness," Sango breathed, slumping down as relief rolled over her.

"Yay!" Rin and Shippo shouted happily; the two of them instantly tackled the pale girl and clung to her with huge fits of laughter. However, Rue merely stared at everyone with dazed golden eyes until they calmed a bit. However, when she silently tried to crawl out from under the sweltering blankets, her slender shoulder throbbed without warning; when she tried it again, her arms buckled and she collapsed on her back: pain instantly surged throughout her body.

"Ow..." Rue mumbled, shivering violently as a wave of nausea overtook her. "I feel sick."

"Ye may feel several aftereffects after the ordeal ye went through," Kaede allowed, yawning as she and Miroku slowly got to their feet.

"Yeah, and you... huh?" Kagome began to add; however, her grin faded into a puzzled frown as her grip on Rue's bare arm. "You're getting hot..."

"Pardon?" the albino girl asked, swallowing past the lump in her throat. "What do you mean?"

"I mean your body is getting hot," Kagome whispered, pressing a hand against her forehead. "Your face... is also pretty flushed right now."

"My back hurts," Rue muttered, dizzily rubbing her eyes. "It's probably just from all the stress."

"You're ill?" Miroku demanded, furrowing his brows with a serious expression. "Take off your blazer and lie down on the mats, face-down."

"Miroku!" Sango cried, mouth dropping open in anger; she had just drawn her hand back when he caught it, not removing his eyes from the albino girl's face."

"Do as I say," the monk stated in a low voice, shooting such a serious glance at Sango that everyone in the room paused.

"M-Miroku..." the demon slayer mumbled, shivering before she jerked her hand away and stomped out of the hut with an angry huff. "Do what you want."

"Why should I take my shirt off?" Rue demanded, feeling oddly weak for some reason; Inuyasha's eyes finally narrowed in irritation, and before she could blink she was being pinned down on the ground. The albino girl's eyes widened when she was straddled by the white-haired half-demon, and she trembled when Inuyasha rapidly started undoing the front of her blazer and school shirt. A few moments later, the girl's upper clothes had been torn off; then she was being rolled over onto her stomach. Something heavy pinned her arms down when she tried to fight back, and she angrily bit her lip to keep from screaming in pain.

However, when Inuyasha gasped and jumped off of her, Rue's rage at being manhandled dissolved.

"What... is that?" Kagome whispered in horror, touching one of the two sore spots right below Rue's shoulder blades; the tiny girl's breath hitched and her golden eyes widened only a split second before she let out an involuntary squeal of pain. Kagome jumped and removed her hand as though she'd been stung; when Rue glanced up at everyone... she was slightly startled to see that every single person had a varying levels of worry in their eyes.

"What's wrong?" Rue asked, struggling to look at her back. "Is there something weird on my back?"

"I... I honestly don't know what's wrong with ye back..." Kaede stated slowly. "It looks as though something is swelling up beneath ye skin like blisters... or maybe boils. There are two enormous bulges, and ye skin has already been stretched to the point where ye have started bleeding beneath it."

"W-w-w-what?!" Rue squeaked, practically shooting off the floor. "What do you mean?! What's happening to my... back... ugh..."

Before she could finish freaking out, an intense wave of dizziness overtook her and dark spots flashed across her eyes; her long silver hair swirled around as she stumbled and tripped due to the ensuing weakness in her limbs. Before she could hit the ground, however, both of Sesshomaru's arms wrapped around her waist and the demon caught her. Rue heard a strange rushing noise in her ears around the same moment she noticed that her face felt hot.

After that, an entire night of living hell began.

Kagome gently turned Rue on her stomach and unclasped her bra in order to to see how the lumps on her back were doing.

However, to the Japanese girl's dismay, the bulges seemed to be getting worse: the area around the highest point had become inflamed and swollen, but the worst part was the fact that the affected areas seemed to be expanding rapidly. As time began to pass, Rue started breathing heavily even though she was only lying on her stomach, and her entire body was covered in sweat due to the high fever she was experiencing.

Kaede hastily grabbed a bucket and ran to the nearby river to get some icy water before hauling back to her hut. Rin and Shippo had both fallen asleep in the corner a few hours before, but for the most part everyone else was too busy taking care of Rue to fall asleep. Even Jaken contributed in helping, although he grumbled about it and tried to act like he wasn't worried. Rue's yellow eyes had glazed over some time ago, but for some reason she didn't seem to be in pain.

Kagome frowned as she put a cold rag on one of the huge purple bulges: they looked grotesque on her pale skin.

"Does your back hurt?" Kagome inquired softly, looking at how the girl's long silver hair had been plastered to her body because of the sweat.

"Not exactly..." Rue weakly replied, breathing rapidly and irregularly. "It feels like I'm being pulled by my shoulders... or like I'm about to get a cramp..."

"I don't understand," Sango sighed, shaking her head with an extreme amount of worry. "How can it not hurt when it looks so bad?"

"I'm not human, am I...?" Rue whispered, making everyone pause; her yellow eyes were watering and full of pain. "How am I not... human? How?"

"I don't know..." Kagome stated honestly, looking up at the ceiling with haunted eyes. "Even though there are lots of demons in this time period, in the end... all of us are human and we have limitations on what we can and can't do. Just because these people have more to them than others, it doesn't mean they're any different regarding our spiritual beliefs... but when it comes to you, I can't say I understand what it means to not be human... or even what it feels like."

"But why me?" Rue whimpered, breathing irregularly and clutching the pillow beneath her head as the bulges on her back twitched. "Why did I have to be born as something more than human?! I only wanted to be a normal girl and have a normal life! I never wanted to be some sort of angel! I want to be a human!"

"Miharu-chan..." Kagome whispered helplessly, shaking her head as she looked at the girl's back.

Without warning, the bulges on Rue's back started to move around and the girl let out a cry of pain that startled Rin and Shippo into wakefulness: Kagome and Inuyasha both jumped in alarm and stared at the girl's back with wide eyes, frozen with shock as the enormous purple bulges continued to move. Sesshomaru actually stood up in order to watch what was happening: every single person in the room held their breath as Rue buried her face in the old-fashioned futon.

Then the skin on the left bulge split open; a thin trickle of blood started streaming from the tear in the girl's skin.

Rue immediately began to sob in pain, but she couldn't scream because she couldn't draw in enough air: it was almost as though she'd been winded. Her pale face screwed up in agony as the other bulge split right down the middle, causing a rivulet of blood to fly from her back. Inuyasha flinched when a bit of it hit him on the cheek, but that was all it took to spring the half-demon into action: he immediately began to rummage around in Kagome's bag for medical supplies.

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" Rue wailed, squeezing Kagome's hand as the bulges on her back continued to move. "K-Kagome, help me!"

"I don't know what to do!" the Asian girl exclaimed, looking as though she were about to freak at any second. "Rue-chan, just hang on, okay?!"

"It hurts!" Rue bawled, squeezing her eyes shut. "Make it stop! My back! It's killing me!"

Everyone's eyes widened when the skin on the girl's back rapidly began to expand.

Inuyasha immediately wrapped some thick medical tape around his thumb before bolting over to her side.

"Bite on this so you won't bite your tongue!" the half-demon rapped out, hastily holding his thumb out; Rue shakily did as she was told, but Inuyasha winced when her sharp teeth sliced through the first few layers of tape. The _hanyou_ actually lost his balance when Rue thrashed in agony and screamed past the digit clenched between her teeth: however, when the girl rocked back onto her knees without using her arms, everyone in the room gasped in shock.

"IT HURTS!" Rue screeched, releasing Inuyasha's thumb and staring at the ceiling. "OWWWW!"

A huge spray of blood erupted from her back and the girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

When Rue came back down again and planted both hands on the floor, Kagome and Sango covered their mouths in horror since it looked like two huge bones were starting to slide out of the girl's back. Inuyasha fell on his backside in shock next to his half-brother, both of them watching with identical expressions of stunned disbelief as the protrusions continued to slide through the tears in Rue's ivory skin. The albino began crying hysterically and clutched at the couch as her fingertips began to spark with electricity: to her, it felt as though her back was being ripped open by a huge carving knife.

She wanted it to end, wanted the ripping sensation to finish and allow her to relax.

The girl's breath was knocked out of her body when the protrusions continued to slide outward, but Kaede's wizened eyes widened in unholy fright when she began to see blood-stained feathers and bony joints: two enormous, blood-soaked wings were slowly sliding out of the girl's back and unfurling... but when the wings unexpectedly snapped open and spread themselves wide, Rue Thompson let out a screech so loud that the air seemed to echo with it for hours.

Then, when her lungs were empty, the girl squeezed her eyes shut and slowly collapsed onto her stomach.

The pain soon began to fade... and she closed her eyes as a numb sensation began to descend over her mind. She didn't know how long she lay there, but when she tried to open her eyes again, she wasn't aware that Inuyasha, Kaede, and Kagome were cleaning her wings with bristle brushes and soapy water.

_My body feels cold and heavy,_ Rue whispered silently, struggling to move her arms and failing completely. _Those things on my back twitch every time I feel pain shooting through my shoulders and sides... but with every second that passes, I feel as though they're becoming a natural part of my body. I'm scared... I feel as though I've changed into something else, but there's sweat stinging my eyes so I can't even see what I look like. Am I even uglier than I was before...?_

_"_Someone..." Rue weakly croaked out, fighting to keep her eyes open. "Is someone there...?"

"Yes," Kagome uncertainly replied. "We're here."

"What are you doing...?" Rue tiredly asked.

"Cleaning your new wings, that's what," Inuyasha grumpily retorted. "The old hag says they'll get stained if we don't get the blood and grease off."

"Is your hand all right?" the albino girl asked, struggling to move her arms and once again failing completely. "I didn't mean to bite so hard..."

"Oh, this?" Inuyasha snorted, waving his hand. "It's nothing... you should be more worried about yourself right now."

"My head is hot," Rue complained, feeling as though her cheeks and ears were on fire. "Why is my head so hot?"

"I do not know, but judging by the way ye fever broke," Kaede murmured, touching her forehead, "ye should be fine by tomorrow."

"You have beautiful wings," Kagome murmured absently, scrubbing more of the blood off. "Not white... and not black... just a pretty, colorless silver."

Rue fell asleep to the sound of two gentle brushes sweeping against wet feathers.

Once her feathers were clean, however, everyone tiredly began to wash themselves using clean river water.

"Let's all give her some peace," Kaede groaned in relief, slowly climbing to her feet. "It's nearly the middle of the night and we could all use some much needed rest. There is another hut right next door where we will let Sesshomaru and his company sleep for the night,.

"Can we take Rue with us?" Rin asked, sleepily clasping her hands. "Please...?"

"It's best we don't move her, dear," Kaede tiredly replied. "Her wings need time to dry and heal: she needs her rest, just like all of us."

"And she will have it, especially after enduring such a nauseating ordeal," Sesshomaru stated coldly, climbing to his feet and gently lifting Rue's sleeping form into his arms; even though her enormous wings twitched a little, she didn't stir... but when people began to object, Inuyasha pulled back the reed door.

"Will all of you quit it?" the half-demon irritably demanded. "He won't listen to any of you, and we can all see her in the morning when she wakes up."

Sesshomaru, Rin, and Rue all left, meeting Jaken outside and disappearing into the smaller hut next door.

They would rest easy for the next few days, but after that they would leave.

Or at least, that's what Sesshomaru thought.

**TXXXXXT**

That very night, Rue opened her eyes and winced as the soreness finally got to her.

She'd woken up when they'd moved her to the new hut, but she hadn't been able to fall asleep again afterwards. Rue had been going to wake up right then, but then she'd remembered what Midoriko told her: she had to leave them, all of them, again. The good news was that she could rejoin them when things were right again inside her body, but right now she was the farthest thing from that point.

Sitting up slowly, the girl slowly looked around and took in her surroundings with new eyes.

Her joining with Ria had given her incredible eyesight, making the darkness seem like day. Her new hearing slowly began to pick up her friends' soft breathing, and their slow heartbeats told her that they were all truly asleep. Her new nose picked up the morning dew that was nestled outside on the grass. Everything in the entire village was quiet: no one was moving or budging. This was the perfect time, and probably the only chance she'd ever have to do this. Rue quickly but silently rose to her feet and slipped outside, glancing back at her sleeping friends: the people who had become her family.

Even Sesshomaru was sleeping deeply tonight; the girl memorized his face before letting the bamboo door fall closed behind her.

Rue went to find something to write on by slipping into the hut where Kagome, Inuyasha and the rest of them were sleeping soundly.

Kagome's bag was sitting right next to the door, so it was easier to open and she pick through.

She quickly found a scrap piece of paper and pencil and wrote down a note; then she slipped over to the other hut and set the note back on the bed they'd placed her on, then grabbed her personal belongings and headed back outside. Rue Thompson glanced to the east, the direction that Midoriko had told her to go, and began to sprint—going at an incredibly high speed that only a demonic angel could have hoped to pull off. The speed made her smile as the wind pulled at her silver hair and green sailor uniform, but at the same time she could feel her body changing—just like Midoriko had said it would after the merging.

Her straight white hair began to ripple like water from the roots out as she ran: then it began to change in texture, and the straightness of her gleaming locks began to curl slightly. The nails on her hands and feet extended into claws while her rounded ears stretched into points, lengthening until they were only a little bit shorter than a full demon's. Her pupils narrowed into catlike slits and shifted in hue to an extremely bright shade of crystal blue.

According to Midoriko, because her eyes had originally been gold, they would shift back and forth in color depending on her mood.

Rue's speed slowly increased as she sprinted across the landscape and headed towards the mountains, wavy hair flying and blue eyes shining.

However, when the sun began to rise, the girl flung out her arms and she leapt into the air like a graceful ballet dancer, flying like an angel for the first time in her entire life. As she arched her back under the wind and sun, she soared gracefully toward the blue sky above before flapping towards the mountains with her arms outstretched like an eagle—feeling completely free. Her long hair fanned out in the morning light and her eyes became gold once again.

Midoriko had told her that she would find a sanctuary in those mountains. It was a haven for half-demons like herself, a place where she could learn how to control her abilities quickly and safely—without any interruptions—from a teacher who wasn't much different from herself. That was where she was going to go. As she flew away into the distant sunrise, only a note was left behind; a note that would forever be encrypted in the thoughts of those who read it.

_I'm sorry that I have to leave like this, but it is very important and I have to for now. I learned something dangerous about myself, but don't worry because it's not a permanent separation: I will come back to you guys, I promise. Rin, smack Jaken a good one for me, and give Sesshomaru a hug every day. Kagome... thank you for everything you and your friends have done for me. Sango, smack Miroku if he acts perverted towards any other hapless girls... and Shippo... candy is always yummy.  
_

_I love all of you._

_Rue Rosemerry Thompson_

The note had been short, sweet, and straight to the point: just like she'd wanted.


	16. Chapter 15: The Full-Blooded Half-Breed

**PART TWO: THE MARK OF SORROW  
**

"Wherever there is Light, Darkness will be lurking nearby."  
**-Edgar Allen Poe-**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: The Life of a Pure-Blooded Half Breed  
**

"MIHARUUUUU!" Mizore wailed, panting as she tried to keep up. "SLOW DOWN ALREADY!"

"Are you kidding me?" Rue laughed, skidding to a stop and turning around in order to look at the girl she was tutoring. "You need to get in shape!

"It's not my fault!" the older girl heaved, finally stopping at her side and doubling over in exhaustion. "You and Nana are the fastest demons in the entire village! I can't keep up with you like this, so the least you can do is slow it down a bit!"

"And, um… why would I want to do that?" Rue asked with mock curiosity, smiling up at the girl with innocent golden eyes.

"Don't get all sarcastic and smiley, Miharu-chan!" the bigger girl snapped. "It ain't funny!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Rue laughed, golden eyes glinting mischievously. "Since you can't keep up, would you like me to carry you again?"

"Shut up!" the larger girl snarled, swinging at her.

"Eek!" Rue squealed mockingly, laughing as she whirled away from the much larger demon; the albino stuck out her tongue and laughed before she took off and raced up the mountain again.

"You little twit!" Mizore shouted, but her voice was quickly drowning away. "Ack! Slow down!"

Rue couldn't help but giggle to herself since running had always been her favorite thing to do—even when she'd been on the track team back home. Ever since her change had occurred about a month ago, running made her feel as though she could leap into the air and fly away. Which was something that she was able to do, anyway, since she had an enormous pair of feathered wings pinned down beneath her school clothes... but still, she loved running much more than she did flying.

After all, Rue was terrified of heights: being turned into a full-blooded demonic angel hadn't exactly changed that.

About five minutes later, the two of them had arrived at a river: they ran alongside it until they came to the base of a huge waterfall that had carved out a huge chunk of the mountainside. The girls glanced around carefully, then skipped over the rocks and dove into the cascading current, slipping right through the wall of water. They landed one at a time onto the rocky floor of an enormous cave that lay hidden just inside the waterfall. Here, their voices bounced off the walls like echoes on the air.

"You actually kept up pretty good that time," Rue laughed, patting the girl's arm.

"I said shut up!" Mizore snapped, swinging at her again—but once again, her fist connected with nothing but air. "Jeez, how do you move that fast?!"

"It's called practice, Mizore-chan!" Rue laughed, giving the girl an impressive curtsy. "Now, stop yakking and get a move on so we can go get something to eat!"

"Whatever," the girl muttered, shrugging as they both walked deeper into the cave beyond and turned multiple corners; soon they'd arrived at a dead end, where a long drape had been hung over the back wall. A tall demon male stood up as they approached, looking at them with stoic green eyes.

"Password," he stated in a deep voice, folding his muscular arms when they were resting right in front of him.

"Seriously, Daichi?" Mizore snapped, punching him lightly on the arm. "You know us!"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he retorted, flashing her a wolfish grin. "Password."

"You really have to live up to your name, don't you 'wise one'," the older girl huffed, folding her thick arms. "Sometimes it really bugs me."

"Calm down, Mizore," Rue giggled, then turned to the young man and said, "The password is hibiki."

"Thanks, Miharu," Daichi laughed, smiling as he reached to pull back the curtain; behind it was a large hole in the wall, and it was just big enough for a person to slide through. Mizore instantly dashed inside, followed closely by Rue—who was kind of busy taking off her off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that Kagome had given her a long while back. The cave had opened up to an entirely different world: it was a huge cavern, maybe eight stories high, and it extended before the two of them. A long house was built off at the back wall and circled along the outsides of the cavern, leaving space room for the huge training ground in the front wall.

"I never really understood why Sarasa chose the word 'sound' as a password," Mizore noted, rolling her broad shoulders. "It makes no sense to me at all."

"To her it does," Rue pointed out, braiding back her wavy silver hair before straightening her cutoff tank-top and beige harem pants.

"Well, I'm going to stop by my room," Mizore sighed, then ruffled the shorter girl's hair with a smile. "Hey, kiddo, want to spar with me later on?"

"Sure thing—but only if you can keep up with me!" Rue laughed, then raced off towards the main house before the older demon could respond. However, just as she was running over to one of the doors, a young woman unexpectedly leapt out from behind a stone pillar and picked her up in a bear hug, squeezing the life out of her. The woman was extremely tall, had platinum blonde hair—which was currently tied into loose pigtails by some blue ribbons that Rue had given her—and tan skin, along with a set of olive green eyes that burned with maternal instinct. The woman was actually Rue's self-proclaimed mother: she had screamed as much at the world when Rue had first arrived before joyfully squeezing the small girl half to death—exactly like she was doing at this particular moment.

"Kyaaaaa! I'm so glad you're back!" the woman squealed, swinging Rue around in circles like a little doll before happily staring into her bright golden eyes. "I missed you _so_ much, Rue-chan! Sarasa is off with Saelind right now: she told me to let you know since this was the first place you'd be heading to when you got back!"

"Thanks, Mama Nana," Rue wheezed out, giggling once the woman had set her down.

Nanami McNamara was a full-fledged fox demon with an _unnaturally_ powerful maternal instinct—but since she was taller and skinnier than most of the men _and_ women in their cavernous village—due to the fact that she had fled from medieval Europe by ship to escape from the witch burnings, which had apparently just begun to happen across the ocean—she was often the main source of harassment. However, the woman was strong enough to take care of the ones who tormented her since she held an incredible control over the living earth. Her nickname, _Mother Nature,_ was something that had been floating around for almost two years.

Nana, however, had taken a liking to Rue because of her foreign appearance: the woman had been getting a LOT of grief because _she_ was foreign, too.

That's probably why Rue was sympathetic towards her, as well: she understood Nanami since she had been through the same thing growing up.

"Hey, Nana?" Rue piped up with a hopeful glance. "Has dinner been served yet? I'm starving!"

"No, silly," Nanami laughed, bending down on her knees and waving a finger at her with a motherly countenance. "It won't be ready for a good while yet, so why don't you go check on the younger students and see how they're doing? They've been missing you a lot, lately! I'll come get you when it's done, 'kay?"

"Gotcha!" Rue giggled, rolling her eyes when the woman playfully smacked her arm and sashayed toward the training grounds.

Rue watched her go before glancing at the doors she'd just about to open, but then she shrugged and went skipping down the walkway in the opposite direction. She passed by the first two rooms and entered the third one, right on time: the class had just started, and few of the students had come scampering in right behind her—waving excitedly as they passed. The teacher, Sakurai Momozono, greeted her with a warm smile before she turned to the class. The fox demon had once been Rue's teacher until everyone had realized the girl was an abnormally swift learner: she had excelled every class in only a few days' time. When the teachers finally understood how quickly she was advancing, they passed her on to Sarasa—who'd finished teaching Rue what she'd needed to know before making her a tutor.

Rue still remembered the first day she'd gotten there: Sarasa Takakashi had found her wandering around the mountaintop and had actually chewed her out for being abnormally slow. Over time, though, Rue had taken a strong liking the cranky old woman since she was sort of grandmotherly... and eventually, they'd slowly become close to each other—which had entitled Rue to two outfits that Sarasa had made just for her: the first was an adorable pink kimono that ended just below her knees. The sleeves were comfortably tight around the shoulders, but they billowed out just below the elbow and hung down around her hands in a loose manner. The sash that tied the outfit together had been of the finest quality, and the undershorts that Sarasa had made were extremely cute. Rue felt years younger whenever she put it on, because Japanese festivals were pretty much the only thing she had really enjoyed growing up. All in all, the outfit was absolutely adorable in every way.

However, there were no slits for her wings... so Rue had to wear her wing harness whenever she wanted to put it on.

The second outfit was pretty much identical in the way of style, but the stitching, cloth material, and embroidery had been altered greatly. Quiet honestly, Rue had never seen such a gorgeously-crafted kimono throughout her entire time living in Japan: it was made of an extremely soft substance that shifted in color from sapphire blue to violet or teal. However, the difference with this outfit was that Sarasa had purposely designed it so she could use her wings without injuring herself.

She pretty much had the two cutest outfits in the entire world: she could have won a Kimono-based fashion contest back home with them.

All in all, Rue had pretty much warmed up to the mountain life and her new strengths.

The silver-haired girl had even made a few friends while living there: Mizore was a thick-bodied, half-blooded fox demon who could heat up the light around her rather than make fire itself; Saelind, a chiseled wolf-demon with the ability to change his form and use illusions rather than an element; and Nanami, the maternal fox demon from Europe, Although the majority of the students living on the mountain were fox demons, not all of them were: Rue had met a younger student who was a dog demon like two other people she knew, but the girl had left about a week ago with the parting words that she was ready to find her place in the world. Other kinds of demons and half-demons lived there together, as well, but it didn't mean that they lived happily: most of the full-blooded demons didn't like the idea of sharing a living space with half-demons, but Sarasa had made it very clear to everyone that anyone who was willing to work was allowed to stay.

Rue sat down by the door and watched as the younger children followed Sakura's instructions on basic fighting stances, but her mind quickly zoned out and she found herself looking back on her memories. She often caught herself doing this and she tried not to, but once in a while she couldn't help it. She missed all of them: Rin, Jaken, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Shippo… and Sesshomaru. She honestly believed that they would have loved this place.

"Miharu?" a male voice whispered, jolting her out of their thoughts.

"Huh?" Rue whispered back, popping out of her head: Saelind was leaning through the doorway, waist-length black hair tangled up in its usual mess. "Oh, hi…"

"Sarasa wishes to see you," the burly man explained, smiling down at her in a fatherly way and revealing his wolfish fangs.

"Oh, okay," Rue sighed, climbing to her feet and smoothing her tank top before following the man out the door; she hummed quietly to herself as he led her back down the walkway towards the main house, staring at his cloth sarong and something that could have passed as a tank-top. "So, how was training today? Any easier?"

"It's easier to shift into my dragon form, but only because it was the first I ever used," he replied, angular face falling. "The smoke illusion is getting easier, but I still can't get the camouflage illusion down yet."

"Hey," Rue stated, grabbing his muscular forearm, "You'll get the hang of it. You can't expect it to come easy, though: without the work, you can't get the prize."

"I know," Saelind snorted, looking down at her in amusement, "but what's been going on with your little butt lately, Miharu? I haven't seen head or tail of you in almost two days straight, and I was honestly beginning to wonder if Nanami-chan had mauled you to death by accident with one of her bone-crushing hugs."

"Nope, obviously I'm still alive," Rue laughed, patting his huge forearm with an amused giggle. "I've been helping Mizore with her speed training—but I'm not supposed to talk about the other students, so keep the fact that I told you a secret!"

"My lips are sealed!" Saelind laughed in his deep voice; then he knelt, wrapped his arms around the small girl's waist, and lifted her into the air before spinning her around in a rapid circle. The two of them laughed as they spun together, and Rue threw her arms out like a little girl before letting out as happy squeal. They finally stopped after a moment of spinning, and the demon man pulled her into a hug that she gently returned. "You, me, and Nanami... we really are a family, Rue."

"I know," the girl murmured, smiling when he set her down; Nana and Saelind really did feel like a father and mother sometimes, and the two of them had cared about her from the moment they'd set their eyes on her. Saelind was a wolf demon who had been kidnapped from Egypt by a slave trader since he'd had dark skin: still, because he hadn't exactly been a normal human like everyone had believed, he had easily gotten free when the ship stopped for supplies in Northern Japan. Ever since then, he'd been wandering around until the day he'd found Sarasa and had been accepted into the demon village: he was the oldest demon male around.

Although, he didn't really look like it, considering Rue had initially thought he was in his late twenties.

When they stopped in front of the doors and Rue opened it, she giggled when the wolf demon winked at her before heading off toward the training grounds.

"Rue Rosemerry Thompson! Close that door right now and get ye skinny butt in here!" a very familiar voice snapped at her; Rue quickly shut the door but ended up rolling her eyes before turned around. "Thank ye... now, how did Mizore do today? Has her speed improved?"

"Um…" Rue tried, hesitating as she bit her lip and tried to come up with an explanation: Mizore had gotten a little better, but it wasn't much of jump forward. However, Rue couldn't tell Sarasa that: the older girl _was_ getting better... just at a slower pace than the others. "Yeah, she did well this morning: I took her up and down all the routes the mountain has and she did fine… until the last couple of runs."

"Ye said that last week: has she gotten better since then or not, Rue?" the older woman inquired, lifting her silver eyes from the clay bowl in front of her.

Those eyes seemed to slice right through Rue's soul.

"Well, yeah," Rue sighed, shifting her weight. "A little…"

"I see," Sarasa, a woman of beauty despite the wrinkles lining her face, sighed sadly. "She may need to be dropped back down to her previous class, then."

"No!" Rue instantly exclaimed, stiffening up in protest. "Sarasa, that wouldn't be the right thing to do—and you know that just as much as I do!"

"Rue—" the woman tried to reprimand

"No!" Rue pleadingly snapped, cutting her elder off as she clasped her small hands together. "I mean it, Sarasa! I know that I can work with her! She'll be great by the end of the month, but please—give her a little more time! Skill takes practice, and she's been trying so hard to do better that it'd be cruel beyond words to take away what she's trying so hard to earn before she can even manage to achieve it!"

"I hate it when you talk like that... all righteous and sensible," the woman grumbled, returning to her task of mixing clay inside the bowl. After a long moment of thought, however, Sarasa sighed and said, "Ah, very well, Rue—but if she doesn't improve by then, I will have to drop her back a class. I'm trusting ye abilities."

"You won't regret it, I promise," Rue sighed, letting her shoulders slump in relief. "Anyway, Papa Saelind told me he was getting better with his dragon form. However, I was wondering if he's doing all right or if there are any particular problems that he's having. He seemed so discouraged when I asked him how it went today."

"Stop it, Rue," Sarasa scolded, giving her a knowing smile. "Ye know that I don't discuss my students with other students."

"Okay, then," Rue murmured simply; then she sat down, crossed her legs in front of the woman, and planted her tiny hands in her lap. "If you won't discuss Papa Saelind with a student... then, would you possibly discuss his progress with another teacher? Because that's pretty much what I am, being a tutor and all."

The woman stared at the girl, trying to decide whether or not she should say anything; however, Rue was gazing at her with such a caring face that she relented.

"He's doing very well, child," Sarasa sighed, shaking her head. "Every time he changes, he gets quicker and faster: I've never seen anyone progress in the art of shape-shifting so quickly. Ye, on the other hand, are a different story since ye are the reincarnation of Midoriko-sama as well as an angel with demon blood. Even though ye haven't yet been able to use the power of the Four Souls, which is resting within ye body, ye have progressed so astoundingly that ye spooked all my teachers with the extent of ye raw power. If I had not had that vision of ye coming, though, ye would still be flying above my mountain top like a lost sparrow."

"Hey, you can't hold that against me!" Rue instantly laughed, stubbornly folding her arms. "I was still new to this, so I wasn't used to all of the smells!"

"Of course ye did," Sarasa droned sarcastically. "Now, ye should run along because the supper bell is just about to ring—and ye look like ye starving to death."

"Thanks, _Oba-chan,_" Rue sighed, giving the woman a coy salute before she stood up and cracked her back. "I'm going to go change my clothes before dinner."

**TXXXXXT**

"Whew, that was good!" Nanami sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"Oh, wow… I never thought chicken could ever taste that good!" Rue breathed with a half-lidded look of contentment on her face: she was finally happy that her belly was full of warm and delicious food. "Hey, when do you think we'll get to have this again? This is the first time I've had something other than fish around here."

"I dunno, but I'd kill for something sweet right about now!" Saelind rumbled, laughing in a deep baritone from across the table before he shook his mane of thick black hair out of his crimson eyes. "Honestly, I haven't had sweets in weeks, and I'm afraid I've been developing a bit of a sweet tooth."

"How do you live!" Nanami gasped, looking at him in sincere mortification.

"I'm a man, Nana-chan," the wolf demon snorted, elbowing the blonde woman with a playful grin. "I don't crave sweets to the degree that females do! Anyway, I'm up for a little escapade. Either of you ladies wanna go foraging tonight?"

"Yeah! We could go raid the kitchen and see if the cooks are hiding anything," Rue whispered mischievously, leaning over the table with a grin of delight.

"Count me in!" Nanami squeaked, waving her hand around with bright green eyes. "I wanna go, too!"

"Such an amazing mother figure for our little girl!" Saelind sighed in a mockingly dreamy tone, teasing the two of them with a roll of his eyes. However, within seconds the group of three had their raid planned out and memorized, so they spent the rest of their dinner making jokes about who would get caught first. Their laughter echoed throughout the room until a few of the teachers came over and shushed them before walking away. However, the room's doors suddenly burst open and Sarasa tore into the dining hall, face tight with fear and anger as she hustled over to their table: the woman immediately grabbed Rue's hand in a crushing grip.

"OW!" the girl squeaked, jumping in surprise.

"Ye three must come with me now," she hissed urgently, voice so low so that only the three of them could hear.

"What's going on, Sarasa?" Rue asked in alarm once they were in the hall. "Why did you pull only us out of there? I swear that we weren't doing anything."

"Maybe she saw a vision of us raiding the kitchen," Saelind whispered with a smirk. "She may have decided to punish us beforehand."

"Aw, man!" Nanami whined, hanging her head with dangling arms as she followed them down the hall. "I can't get into trouble again! I just got caught sticking honey into that conceited frog demon's hair the other day, so I'll probably get whipped if I break the rules again so soon!"

"That was you?" Rue and Saelind asked simultaneously, glancing back at her in surprised amusement.

"Yeah, but he was so snide that I couldn't just sit there!" Nanami said defensively. "He called me a trollop and said that my hair was ugly!"

"Hurry!" Sarasa hissed, effectively ending their playful conversation.

_She's dead serious,_ Rue instantly realized, becoming alert to the fact that something was wrong. _I've never seen her this way before. _

"Come along!" Sarasa hissed, dragging them all into the main house before stopping at a wall. Pushing back a rug, the woman stomped on one end of the floor and the other end popped up in response. She pulled back the hidden door in the floor and motioned for them to get in the hole. "Do not come out until everything is quiet... but when it is, stay close to the left wall for five paces, turn straight for the right wall, and follow it for another five paces. It will lead ye outside."

"Sarasa, hang on!" Rue exclaimed. "What's—?"

"Do not come out until all is quiet—especially you, Miharu!" the woman cried. "Saelind, Nanami! You are to protect this girl with your lives if need be—she is the _key!"_

With a small push, she had them all down in the hole and shut the door, leaving the three alone together in the darkness. For a long time, everything was quiet. Rue could hear the woman pulling the rug back over the floor and then leaving the room, but after that she couldn't hear anything.

In fact, it was the last thing she heard for a while.

"I knew she'd crack one day!" Nanami finally groaned.

"Shut up, Nana!" Saelind growled into the darkness, folding his thick arms. "Something's wrong, Sarasa knows something we don't, and all we can do is trust her."

"Guys... I feel strange…" Rue said softly, glancing up at the trap door as her eyes slowly began to widen: her irises glittered like dying embers in the dim light. "It feels almost like something bad is filling up my stomach, but the pressure keeps building... and it's not letting up. I think something really evil is coming close to all of us."

"I hate it when you say things like that, Rue!" Saelind immediately groaned, covering his eyes and letting out a masculine sigh of dismay. "Usually you're right on the mark with those types of things—not to mention you always give me this really creepy feeling in my gut when your eyes suddenly go all blank like that."

"If my eyes going blank creeps you out, you probably would have avoided me as much as possible not even a week before I came here," Rue snorted, giggling despite the horrible feeling of dread that was building up inside her chest. "My eyes were blank all the time back then."

"What should we do?" Nanami wondered aloud, protectively wrapping her arms around Rue's shoulders. "If something evil is headed out way, what will we—"

"AIEEEEE!" a girl suddenly screeched from above, cutting the woman off: all of three of them jumped in startled surprise.

"What the—?" Nanami gasped, instantly reaching up for the trap door: her maternal instincts had just kicked in.

"Don't!" Saelind snapped, grabbing her hand. "Remember what Sarasa said? We can't go out! She said to protect Rue!"

"But someone needs help!" the woman instantly argued.

"Stop it, Nana! We have to listen to what she said!" Rue instructed, grabbing her other arm. However, another girl's bloodcurdling scream tore into the night... but this time the shriek was accompanied by an explosion that shook the earth around them. Nanami fell to her knees as the ground quaked; Saelind was sent sprawling onto one knee by the tremors, and Rue grabbed onto the wall with both hands in an attempt to steady herself as the shaking continued to rip through their hiding place.

"What the hell is going on up there?!" Saelind growled, staring up at the ceiling with huge eyes. "Did Sarasa foresee a battle? If so, we should be out there!"

"She wouldn't have hid us if she knew we would survive through it!" Rue snapped back; just as she finished speaking something crashed into the room above them and everyone froze like statues. Rue instantly stared up at the ceiling with a terrified expression before tapping Saelind and Nanami on the shoulders. When they glanced up, she motioned for them to move back against the left wall like Sarasa had instructed them to do without lowering her frightened gaze.

Footsteps entered the room not long after that, pausing a few times.

"Do you see her in there, Bankotsu?" an oddly familiar voice asked from a short distance away; her eyes instantly went blank and the two scars on her arm burned.

"Midoriko's reincarnation isn't here," a deep and beautiful voice replied. "However, we'll take the old woman with us just as Naraku wanted."

Rue slapped a hand to her mouth, trying to keep herself from gasping as a jolt of shock seared through her: the footsteps slowly walked back out of the room.

_Naraku?! He's the cause of this?!_ she cried silently, frantically shaking her head as she lowered her hand. _Who is Bankotsu, though? Is he Naraku's minion?_

"Take me!" Sarasa's stubborn voice snapped. "Do what needs to be done with me, but leave these children alone!"

_Sarasa, no!_ Rue wailed inside her mind, locking up in fright; Saelind instantly reached forward with a huge hand and grabbed onto the small girl's shoulder, pulling her frozen body deeper into the hole since she couldn't move on her own.

"We have orders, old woman: we take you and leave no one alive," the deep, beautiful voice stated smoothly. "Ginkotsu, do your work."

"As you command, Bankotsu," a strangely robotic voice responded.

"GAAH!" a man's horrific scream ripped into the air, and Rue flinched when more explosions and screams followed it. Fighting began to break out above, but the terrified screams of children and adults alike erupted not long after. The cries lasted for what seem like an eternity before they slowly began to die away. Rue stared off at nothing as she listened to the sounds of the dying battle above her, frozen in complete and utter shock. Soon, everything was overridden by a horrible silence that made the air alone feel thick enough to suffocate the three who were huddling in the dark below.

"I don't hear anything…" Saelind stated after everything had become silent; his voice was low, quiet, and nervous. Rue slowly lifted a hand and rubbed her shoulder with absentminded movements. She hadn't been able to talk or think since the cries had started above them, but now they were gone and the silence had set in. The sounds had stopped, the wails and screams had fallen silent, and the explosions had ceased. Rue, Nanami, and Saelind had sat there for nearly two hours since then.

They were still and quiet: listening and hoping to God that the battle was over.

"Rue…?" Nanami quietly called. "Rue, we have to get out of here..."

The woman's voice seemed so far away to the shaking girl standing frozen in the shadows: the sounds she'd been hearing were still echoing in her ears.

"Remember what Sarasa told us?" Saelind sighed, taking both females by their hands and leading them out of the dark hole. "We have to leave, so come on."

At the end of the tunnel, he pulled on a small handle and a small round door leading out into the darkness beyond broke loose. It led out into the garden, back behind the main house. The small pond was sitting calmly, almost as though nothing had changed; the fish were still swimming around in a circular dance all their own. The roof of the cavern had been split open and the sky was shining in from above. However, even though the moon was shining brightly, smoke from somewhere close by blocked the light as it spilled out. Saelind led them around the house, but Rue jerked to a halt the moment she smelled it: blood, the scent of death.

It was everywhere.

"What the hell?!" Rue whispered, golden eyes becoming huge before she tore herself loose from Saelind's grasp and ran out from behind the house.

The two adults hastily followed the girl, but stopped short when they saw the sight in front of them, taking in the horror with mortified expressions: the horribly mangled bodies of men, women, and children—fun, happy people with lives and personalities, people they used to know and laugh with almost every day, teachers and students alike—lined the bloody ground in horrifying positions. Piles of smoking debris had been thrown everywhere from the explosions.

It looked as though ropes and ropes of blood had been flung from them.

"NOOOOO!" Nanami wailed hysterically, dropping to her knees and staring at the carnage with enormous green eyes; Saelind's face went blank with shock, and he had to lean against the house to keep himself from falling over; Rue couldn't move for a long moment, standing rigid as her golden gaze fell across the bodies of all the people she'd come to love. Her body was slowly turning to stone, feeling as cold as ice: for a long moment, she couldn't even seem to gather herself to say anything.

She just stood there, taking in the death around her with blank eyes and soaking up the horror that had fallen on her home.

Finally, a single word began to take shape inside her heart and mind, building up until it was unwilling ripped out of her mouth.

_"Nandé…?"_ Rue whispered brokenly in Japanese, hugging herself as the feeling of pain began to turn into rage; she doubled over in agony, clutching herself as she grit her teeth from the surge of power that had awakened inside her body. Her long silver hair began to billow around as she stood there, shaking.

"Rue?" Saelind asked hoarsely, glancing at the girl with widening eyes when a glowing light filled the air around her body.

_"Nandé?"_ the girl asked again, a little more loudly before her voice cracked.

"Rue, honey, it'll be okay," Nanami soothed, rubbing her eyes and sniffling as she turned around and started towards her; Rue merely hugged herself even tighter, squeezing her eyes shut as she slowly began shaking her head. The wind around them began to rise as she rebelled against the agony of losing her second family: tendrils of her billowing silver hair were swept up by the rising breeze, sending a chill into the air as her power continued to grow in strength.

_"Nandé? Nandé, Nandé?"_ the girl whimpered, voice quavering violently as she doubled over with the crushing weight of her grief.

"Rue, calm down!" Nanami instantly cried, eyes widening as she started backing away. "Calm! Don't lose control of it here!"

However, she couldn't take the agony any longer: Rue clamped both hands to her head and drew in a ragged, shaking breath before throwing her head back.

_"NAAAAANNDÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ?!"_ the girl screeched, opening her eyes wide: two brilliant beams of violet light exploded from her irises and something within her soul snapped open wide as she wailed out her agony. A door that had been hidden within her—waiting until that horrifying moment in time to reveal the power that lay behind it—came open, letting forth an unearthly feeling of hatred and rage. Fury roared to life inside of Rue's body as her tear-filled gaze locked onto the moon above, and her glowing violet eyes began to ripple like water as her pupils contracted into razor-bladed slits. A sparkling violet glow began to pulse around her body, becoming brighter and brighter as strength seeped into her limbs and power surged into her: the power that had been passed down to her was awakening.

Rue flung her arms clean into the air, fists to the sky as she threw her head back and let out an inhuman scream of agony that shattered the fabrics of nature.

It echoed out across the cavern, reverberating against the walls, ripping through the buildings, and rebounding off of the broken bodies of the people she used to love—making all of them vibrate with the power of it. Nanami fell to her knees, Saelind stumbled backward, and both demons clamped hands over their sensitive ears with simultaneous cries of pain. Rue took a deep breath, fists going tighter as power completely engulfed her body before she screamed again: long, piercing, otherworldly—the sound avalanched through the air and caused pebbles to dance on the ground as the very air began to tingle with static electricity.

Rue took another deep breath and arched her back as she stretched to the sky before letting out a third wail of rage: this scream was the worst yet, and the power of it tore the fabric in the air. Wind began to swirl around her, dust rising from the ground and spinning with the moving air as the dirt particles were caught by the air-current. Darkness began to gather all around, the sheer power of the girl's scream taking the very light away from the world and pulling it to her the same way that it was pulling the air. Light and Dark moved around her as she released the ancient magic of the Awakening into her scream of fear and rage.

Rue Thompson now stood screaming in the center of a maelstrom as the light was sucked into her body. Darkness fell all around, sending an impenetrable shadow across the moon and placing the world in unbreakable shadow. Where Saelind and Nanami stood, it was blacker than the deepest of nights: the light of the world had been stolen by her powers and was swirling around her body—night around day. Thunder rolled through the Japanese countryside, coalescing into a continuous fury and mixing with her scream, becoming apart of it. Wind swirled around her so forcefully that Saelind and Nanami were forced to cling to something.

Her fourth scream, however, went beyond sound to something else entirely: all around, the earth cracked open in ferocious, jagged tears and shafts of violet light shot toward the sky from the sudden chasms in the cavern floor. The bluish-purple curtains of light vibrated, danced, and—with gathering speed—were pulled into the vortex and sucked into the girl's body. There was suddenly a horrific impact to the air when the last of the violet light was pulled into her and—in a brief but tremendous flash of rippling fire—the glass windows of the cavern buildings imploded in deadly clouds of transparent blades. A wall of dust and debris flew out in every direction from the ground, and she heard Saelind and Nanami screaming in agony as the debris slapped their faces hard enough to rip the skin from their bones.

Almost simultaneously, all of Rue's pent-up energy blasted out of her small body, swirling around her tiny frame and sending shards of ice whipping into the air as she froze the moisture surrounding her. Another jolt of power rattled the air around them, and the ferocity of the final concussion tore the darkness away—returning light to the world. It seemed like forever before Rue's mind started up again, but when it her emotions had formed into a solid bar of hatred that held one word: revenge.

Ice slowly began to radiate from her body and froze the ground completely solid.

"We have to go," Rue said emotionlessly, turning around and heading to her room to grab her backpack and all of her things. "They may come back."

"Go where, Rue?" Saelind whispered hoarsely, rubbing his stinging face before pulling his hand back and checking his fingertips for blood. "We can't just leave them,"

"Who did this to us?" Nanami sobbed, burying her face in her hands before breaking down into tears: her waist-length blonde hair was severely disheveled. "We haven't done anything to deserve this, so why did it happen? All of those children and people—slaughtered like animals!"

"Naraku," Rue seethed, sapphire blue eyes darkening in anger.

"Who?" Saelind and Nanami asked simultaneously. Rue didn't answer right away, but she knew that they deserved to know the truth about her past. They needed to know about the one who'd done this to them, about the demon who had been searching for her and had taken their teacher away instead when they couldn't find her.

"It was Naraku," Rue repeated, refusing to pull her eyes away from the devastation around her.

"You sound like you know him, Rue," Saelind hissed, and a vision of the man she'd seen at the cave not so long ago flashed across her mind.

Those red eyes were the only thing she could focus her hatred on.

"I met him once," the girl replied. "He's the one my friends are looking for, too."

"Then we'll find him," Nanami hissed, and Saelind glanced at the demon woman in shock when she stood up with rarely-seen hatred tainting her expression. "We'll find him... and then we'll kill him for what he did to us."

Rue nodded vacantly, knowing that Nanami was right: they had to get Sarasa back, they had to find out why Naraku had come there out of all places, and she needed to discover what he wanted with her. Until she knew why he was after her, Rue Rosemerry Thompson would never truly feel right again. The girl finally turned away and headed off to the doorway leading back to the waterfall, and the two of them slowly followed her. As the three of them were passing through, however, Nanami and Saelind jumped back in horror: Daichi's body was held off the ground against the wall by unbelievably large darts, and slashes covered what was left of his shredded corpse.

Nanami choked in horror and turned away, covering her eyes and she squeezing her green eyes shut as her shoulders began to tremble. Saelind moved forward and hugged her close to comfort the woman and keep her from staring at the sight of the man she loved; they had all known Nanami and Daichi had been in love... the two of them had even been planning on making their relationship official by having a wedding within the month.

Face white with rage, Rue ripped down the drape that covered the doorway and gently lowered the man's body from the wall, laying it out across the cloth so she could wrap it up respectfully. Once she was finished, Rue clenched her left fist as her heart burned with fury. It was then that the girl decided to do something drastic—something so old fashioned and profound that it would leave the obvious mark of her sorrow for everyone to see. Rue lifted her hand and stared off into space as she focused her abilities and pulled water clean out of the air: glistening liquid immediately surrounded her hand before freezing into a solid blade of ice.

Then, with angry eyes, Rue lifted her hand and squeezed her eyes shut before jerking her hand and slicing the Japanese _Kanji_ for _pain_ into it.

After her flesh was cut, the angel hefted her backpack and stalked off toward the waterfall, raising her hands as she walked through it and freezing the roaring water instantly: the strength of her power sent ice shooting up the entire river for nearly a kilometer. As the frozen energy trailed up the ravine—solidifying the water as the energy hissed away into the darkness of the mountains—Rue stormed off into the woods with a deadened expression of rage in her electric blue eyes. Staring at the frozen waterfall in awe of the power that she was throwing around so easily, Saelind Kiyukiri gently lifted Nanami McNamara's wailing form into his arms and carried her away from Daichi's body—cradling the crying demon woman against his chest as he followed his adopted daughter out into the night.


End file.
